Chicago Bears: Key To the NFC Goes Through The Trenches

The NFC is as brutal a conference as ever. It’s talented almost across the board and the Chicago Bears again have to find a way to navigate it.

How do they do that? This is the question fans have been asking for years. The truth be told the answer has always been the same. Success in this conference begins and ends at the line of scrimmage. The Philadelphia Eagles provided another reminder with their epic run last season. As much love as Carson Wentz and Nick Foles got, they were both recipients of outstanding blocking up front all season. The same goes for that underrated Eagles defense, spearheaded by Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, and Brandon Graham.

Now, look at what the Los Angeles Rams are doing. They invested heavily to secure defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, putting him alongside Aaron Donald on that defensive line. The Jacksonville Jaguars spent a fortune to lock up free agent guard Andrew Norwell. Contending teams are constantly throwing money and high draft picks at the trenches, offense and defense. Getting the quarterback and weapons was important, but in order to maximize that, they have to match talent up front.

The good news is the Bears are already in decent shape

It would be difficult if the Bears were starting from scratch but they have pieces already in place on both the offensive and defensive lines. Cody Whitehair and hopefully a healthy Kyle Long give them a strong interior with an adequate Charles Leno at left tackle. On defense, they have an emerging tandem of Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman. Both of these groups have a foundation but might be one more high caliber talent away from being special.

Next: Chicago Bears 2018 NFL Mock Draft: That Georgia Feeling

Can the 2018 NFL draft solve this problem? If the board bounces their way, yes. Of course, Quenton Nelson would instantly upgrade the offensive front for the Bears but it seems unrealistic to think he’ll be available at #8 overall. That said, the interior blocking group for this class is deep. There is also a number of good defensive linemen they can get who might provide them more juice. Adding to this is the fact they have quality assistant coaches in place to make it work at optimum levels. It falls to GM Ryan Pace on finding them.