The Chicago Bears fell short of expectations last season and a big reason was their offensive line. While Caleb Williams may have held onto the ball too long at times, the offensive line didn’t do much to stop opposing pass-rushers, allowing their rookie signal caller to be sacked an NFL-high 68 times.
The failures in pass protection caused the Bears to aggressively fix the problem this offseason, trading for Joe Thuney from the Kansas City Chiefs, Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams and selecting Ozzy Trapilo in the second round. But that isn’t consolation for the group that didn’t do their job last season and requires significant growth from one prospect looking to hang onto his job.
Kiran Amegadjie Must Take a Step Forward During Bears OTAs
The Bears made a surprising selection when they took Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third round of the 2024 draft. Taking any prospect from a FCS school requires some patience, but the Bears couldn’t wait as injuries and ineffectiveness thrust him into the starting lineup.
Amegadjie made his first appearance in Week 8 and allowed a season-high four quarterback pressures in pass protection according to Pro Football Focus. He made his first career start in Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings but was dominated on national television, allowing four pressures and a sack while committing four penalties.
Performances like that didn’t inspire much faith going forward, but there could have been some factors at play. Matt Eberflus didn’t have the best offensive infrastructure last season and the Bears ran through three different offensive coordinators by the end of the year, including the embattled Shane Waldron.
While there is a new regime in play, Ben Johnson suggested that he was interested in Amegadjie coming out of the draft while talking to reporters during the league’s annual meetings in April.
“I liked Kiran a lot coming out last year,” Johnson said. “He was a guy we had earmarked as a potential developmental prospect. He had a lot of traits to work with… We’re not discouraged at all by what he put on tape. He got put into some tough situations [in 2024.]”
Thuney was also impressed with Amegadjie as he worked with him during OTAs this week.
“He’s another really hard worker, really smart guy – Yale guy,” Thuney said via Mike Pendleton of Bears Wire. “It’s fun to talk back and forth, play next to him and seeing how we see the game, talking about different looks. He’s very smart, works very hard, strong, it’s been cool.”
The comments by Johnson and Thuney are positive but the Bears put him into a backup role after selecting Trapilo in the draft. While he sits behind 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright, there’s still a path for him to compete for the left tackle role as Braxton Jones recovers from an ankle injury. It presents a massive opportunity for Amegadjie to establish himself with Chicago or find himself on the chopping block as next season begins.