Looking for more proven veterans for their revamped offensive line, the Chicago Bears traded for New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury. While not a superstar by any means, he was a serviceable plug-and-play guy.
Even so, the Bears tipped their hand by taking Iowa's Logan Jones in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The decision was somewhat polarizing, given that he was projected to go later, but Ryan Poles and company liked his body of work.
That's why, after watching Bradbury being one of the few low points in their Week 1 59-point explosion, the Bears might want to reconsider their plans in the middle. It's still early, but he's already on the clock.
The Bears should give Logan Jones a chance at one point
Assessing offensive line play can be tricky. Most people rely on algorithms rather than raw data, and while that's fine to a degree, it can also be misleading. Pro Football Focus gave Bradbury a 49.9 grade, the worst in the offense, and while that should be taken with a grain of salt, he didn't look that great on tape, either.
Bradbury was flagged for a head-scratching holding penalty that wiped a 10-yard run by D'Andre Swift off the board, and that's the type of mental miscue Ben Johnson won't tolerate from a seasoned veteran.
Now, back to the rookie. Coach Johnson isn't the most outspoken guy in the league, but he did gush about the rookie out of Iowa. He praised his mental fortitude above all things, and he finished his career with 17 consecutive games without a penalty:
"The mental is top notch. We saw all the traits we’re looking for, whether it’s the run game or pass pro. And we brought him in for a Top 30 and I think that’s when it really solidified it for us that, yeah, he has the makeup," Johnson said (h/t Courtney Cronin). "And then just the next level as far as football IQ as well. I think none of us have any qualms that he’ll be able to download the information. And once again, that’s just another spot where we’ll have high level competition."
Of course, it's not unusual to see rookie centers take some time before being thrown into the fire, and the Bears took things slowly with their first-year players in Johnson's first year. But he didn't hesitate to get them on the field late in the season once they got a hold of things.
It would usually be way too early to say that any player on the team should be benched or will inevitably lose his starting spot, but the writing has been on the wall here for a while. Teams don't use second-round picks on players they're not high on, much less someone who was projected to be available much later.
Bradbury will get more opportunities to hold down the fort, but unless he turns the corner and starts playing like a veteran, his tenure as a placeholder might be shorter than expected.
| More Bears on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google