Pro Football Focus shared its offensive line grades for the 2024 season and the Chicago Bears are pretty much where you would expect them to be in the rankings.
The Bears rank 24th in the PFF offensive line rankings. Mind you, there are 32 NFL teams. So ranking 24th is bad. Here is what Zoltán Buday had to say about the line:
While Chicago’s offensive line failed to reach the potential many saw in it in the preseason, the unit was better than many people gave it credit for. Four of the Bears’ five projected starters earned PFF overall grades above 70.0, and all five topped 65.0. However, injuries and Caleb Williams’ pocket movement and awareness did the group no favors, resulting in the line allowing the most sacks in the NFL (37).
The Bears may have surrendered the most sacks in the league, but they were “only” the 12th-worst offensive line in PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating (84.1). The unit allowed 180 total pressures on 682 pass plays.
To further twist the knife and drive home how bad things got for the line, the analytics site’s preseason rankings had Chicago’s football team ranked 11th. Falling 13 spots in the rankings puts into perspective how much of a disappointment this season was for the offensive line. Frankly, the line’s disappointing play and failure to live up to projections are among the reasons the Bears are watching the postseason from home for yet another season.
There is a part of me that is curious to understand how this offensive line underperformed preseason projections this badly. Also, I’d be interested in hearing the methodology explaining how PFF’s team came to these grades. You’d think that the Bears having both offensive tackles grade out in the top 20, two guards grading out among the top 25, and a center who graded as being in the middle of the pack would lead to a better spot in the rankings than in the bottom third.
Whatever the case is, the Chicago Bears’ offensive line wasn’t good enough in 2024. It needs to be better in 2025. If it isn’t, then we’ll see images like the one below plenty in the new year.
Change is coming to the Chicago Bears offensive line in 2025
The good news is that the 2024 season is over, which means that we no longer have to live in fear that the next snap Caleb Williams takes will be his last because a porous offensive line allowed an unblocked defender a clean shot at the quarterback. And in more good news, there is a sense that the Bears will make changes along the offensive line this offseason. I suppose the only bad news here is that it will come too late to impact the 2024 campaign. But maybe this will be one of those “better late than never” situations.
Looking ahead, Chicago’s football team appears to be in a good place to make impactful changes to its offensive line. The Bears project to have $66,013,403 in available cap space this upcoming offseason, according to the latest calculations from the folks at OverTheCap.com. Chicago also has the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, as well as two second-round selections that are among the top 10 on Day 2. In other words, this front office could do some heavy lifting in free agency and on NFL Draft weekend in the team’s attempt to rebuild the offensive line.
HELP WANTED ALONG THE BEARS’ O-LINE: Free Agent Fits | 2025 NFL Draft Options
For what it’s worth, Chicago’s football team might not need a full teardown and rebuild of its offensive line. Right tackle Darnell Wright and left tackle Braxton Jones graded out well in 2024. With that in mind, upgrading the interior trio figures to be of the utmost importance this offseason. I am looking forward to seeing how the Bears attack their offensive line needs this offseason. Once the dust settles on the team’s search for a new head coach, fixing the offensive line should be the top priority. There should be no excuses from this front office — only action in the form of adding clear upgrades at positions of need.