NEWSLETTER
Teven Jenkins’ 2022 debut saw him take 36 snaps at right tackle in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chiefs.
Two days later, Jenkins was trying his hand at a different spot on the offensive line. And one that could have a starting spot up for grabs:
That’s two straight days with Jenkins spending his full reps as a right guard. And today, he was out there with the first-teamers.
All of a sudden, I think I’m into the idea of Jenkins as the Bears’ starting right guard.
While it’s not a wholly new idea, it certainly is an intriguing one. Firstly, because the natural progression for offensive tackles who aren’t cutting it on the island is to slide inside to guard. Secondly, Jenkins was dabbling at the position when he was cleared to give a go after missing seven practices to start the summer. In other words, it’s not as if the Bears were throwing him to the wolves on Monday. Thirdly, Jenkins’ pre-draft profile had us thinking that he could slide into being a guard depending on his draft situation. So it’s not like this thought hasn’t been taking space in our head for a while.
When looking back to the early stages of Jenkins being on our radar, I remember NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein describing the Oklahoma State product as “an intolerant run blocker.” Meanwhile, Eric Edholm (then of Yahoo! Sports) was using “mauling” and “road grader” as descriptive terms for Jenkins. Edholm also described Jenkins “aggressive, competitive finisher” who “loves to deliver knockout blows” to opponents. But Jenkins’ short arms was a measurable seen as a deterrent for teams with interest. It almost makes you think a move to guard was in the cards all along.
Perhaps the most important thing in all this is that the right guard spot might be the only one that has a truly open competition. Seriously, that might be what is pushing this discussion forward/
Because even though the Bears brought in Michael Schofield (presumably to start) as a free agent, the veteran is something of a known commodity in league circles. We know what Schofield brings as a replacement-level starting offensive lineman with swing capabilities. What we *DON’T* know is what Jenkins is now (or what he could be in the future). Hence, it behooves the Bears to push the envelope when it comes to Jenkins’ development. A move to right guard could work. If it does, then it could help the new regime salvage a pick who might’ve been shown the door after how things went early in camp. And if it doesn’t work, at least the team has a veteran to fall back on while it continues to work on Jenkins’ development.
