Chicago Bears: 3 backup plans to pursue instead of Orlando Brown Jr.
By Ryan Heckman
Late Wednesday night, Chicago Bears fans’ dreams of the team signing free agent offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. were crushed when he signed a four-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals to go protect Joe Burrow.
Brown was one of the most talked-about free agents in connection with Chicago, especially because of Ryan Poles‘ relationship with him from their time together in Kansas City. But, in the end, the Bengals were the highest bidder and Chicago officially lost out on three of this year’s top free agent tackles.
Still, there has to be a plan in place. Poles wasn’t going to allow Brown, Mike McGlinchey and Kaleb McGary to get signed elsewhere without a backup plan. There are still other options for the Bears, both in free agency and the draft.
Let’s start with one of the three best backup plans, and it so happens to come in the 2023 NFL Draft class.
Chicago Bears’ best backup plans instead of Orlando Brown Jr.: Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
If you’re looking for a prototypical first-round offensive tackle, look no further than Paris Johnson Jr. out of Ohio State. He’ll likely go anywhere in the middle of the first round, so the Bears could take him at no. 9 or even trade back a bit to get him.
Johnson stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 313 pounds. He’s a big frame with plenty of athleticism, which is great considering the Bears have one of the most athletic, mobile quarterbacks in the game today with Justin Fields under center.
Johnson is very agile and possesses excellent foot speed, allowing him to move well both laterally and at an angle to keep up with those quicker edge rushers. If the Bears wanted to plug and play a rookie offensive tackle, Johnson should be their man. Otherwise, they have a couple other options to go after.