Nothing sums up the current state of Chicago sports better than the Bears dominating the news by trading for two offensive linemen.
Neither trade is official yet, but this calls for a special offseason edition of Bears Film Study, where we’ll attempt to answer the question, “How happy should Bears fans be?”
First a quick recap: According to multiple reports, the Bears have agreed to send a fourth-round draft pick to Kansas City for veteran guard Joe Thuney and a sixth-rounder to the Rams for guard-center Jonah Jackson. As a bonus, we’ll include a quick look at former Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe, a free-agent addition.
Needless to say, offensive line was a major disappointment last season, and replacing the entire middle three is a great idea. The Bears gave up the most sacks in the league and ranked 25th in rushing offense.
Thuney, 32, has had an amazing career. He’s won four Super Bowls — two with the Patriots and two with the Chiefs — three-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-NFL the past two years. He even received votes for AP offensive player of the year.
Of course, we all saw what happened in the most recent Super Bowl. The Chiefs offensive line was thoroughly dominated by Philadelphia. Everyone on the team has to wear a loss as ugly as that, but the blocking was particularly rough.
When looking at the Super Bowl video, the first thing to notice is Thuney lined up at left tackle, not guard. The Chiefs were struggling at left tackle and decided the best option was to slide Thuney to the blindside, starting in Game 15.
So whatever happened in the Super Bowl shouldn’t reflect on how he’ll do with the Bears, where he’s expected to play guard. Pass blocking at tackle is much more of an athletic challenge with guys like Philadelphia’s Josh Sweat coming at you with a running start.
That said, Thuney was not very good that day. He struggled, not only against Sweat, but also rookie Jalyx Hunt, a third-round pick from Houston Christian. By the way, when are the Bears going to start drafting guys like that?
The interception deep in Chiefs territory late in the first half, which pushed the game to blowout status, was on Thuney. He got bull-rushed right into Patrick Mahomes’ lap.
When Thuney retires, he should be in the Hall of Fame conversation. Right now, though, it’s worth wondering how much is left in the tank. Nine years in the league, 167 starts, just three missed games (two in the regular season and Super Bowl LVIII vs. SF).
It’s impossible to predict how Thuney will respond to the challenge of playing for the Bears. But he should have plenty of valuable knowledge to share.
Jonah Jackson is younger, 28, played for Ben Johnson in Detroit and is under contract for two more years, compared to just one for Thuney. Jackson is coming off a strange year with the Rams after signing as a free agent with high expectations.
He played in just four games for the Rams, but it wasn’t a case of an injury ending his season. Jackson played in Weeks 1, 2, 10 and 18.
Jackson tore cartilage in his knee in the 2024 NFC championship game, his last for the Lions. So he missed OTAs with the Rams, then suffered a bruised scapula early in training camp and missed all of preseason. He started at center in Weeks 1 and 2, then went on injured reserve with a broken scapula. He returned to play against the Dolphins on Nov. 11, then didn’t play again until the final game when the Rams rested some starters.
In the opener Jackson didn’t seem comfortable at center, which is understandable, since he missed so much of preseason. In Week 18 he started at right guard and played pretty well against Seattle, perhaps fully healthy for the first time in a while.
Jackson’s style is more brick wall than road grader. He’s powerful and when he latches onto someone, they stop moving. On one play against the Seahawks he had 325-pound nose guard Johnathan Hankins moving backward.
Jackson last played against the Bears at Soldier Field in 2023, starting at left tackle for the Lions. A quick look at that game provided an interesting two-play snapshot. Then-rookie Gervon Dexter made a quick inside move against him and Jackson turned and grabbed Dexter by the jersey, which he got away with. The next play was a long run by Jahmyr Gibbs, Jackson went out to block T.J. Edwards and put him in a quick bear hug. Again no flag.
There’s plenty in Jackson’s game that is reminiscent of discarded guard Nate Davis, but Jackson is certainly the stronger and more powerful of the two, and that’s a positive trait.
With tight ends, the belief here is one of the bad mistakes of the Shane Waldron era was deciding the Bears didn’t need blocking tight ends or fullback Khari Blasingame (who joined the Eagles and will own a Super Bowl ring).
Smythe, 29, has spent seven years with the Dolphins, his career high is 35 receptions, but can he block? Small sample size here, but it’s probably safe to say no, blocking is not his strength.
