NFC North Position Rankings: Offensive Line

This post will focus on the offensive lines as we continue our in-depth look at each NFC North team’s position groups.

Arguably the most important position group after quarterbacks, the offensive line was a major problem in Chicago in 2022.

The Bears surrendered more sacks than anyone in the league, and despite being one of the best run-blocking units in the NFL, the pass-blocking was often nonexistent.

Did the Bears add enough talent to this group to climb out of last place in the rankings? Let’s find out.

Note: this piece will only consider the starting five offensive linemen, based on the depth charts available on ESPN.

Detroit Lions

Offensive line from left to right: Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Penei Sewell

In 2022, the Lions boasted one of the most dominant offensive lines in the NFL, giving up just 23 sacks all season. They were never graded worse than 10th any week by Pro Football Focus, and that’s even with the injuries that the group dealt with. Heading into 2023, PFF has them ranked as the fifth-best offensive line in the NFL.

Penei Sewell continues to headline this strong group. He’s only going into his third year, he’s allowed just seven sacks in nearly 2,200 snaps and is coming off a Pro Bowl season. Expect quarterback Jared Goff to enjoy strong pockets throughout most of 2023 and beyond.

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Minnesota Vikings

Offensive line from left to right: Christian Darrisaw, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Ed Ingram, Brian O’Neill

Darrisaw is coming off an elite 2022 season, where he stamped his place as one of the game’s premier left tackles. He will likely anchor this Minnesota offensive line for a long time. Next to him is Cleveland, another young draft pick with ascending talent, and across the line stands O’Neill, another solid tackle. The final two positions on the line show some cracks, however.

Bradbury was a highly coveted center prospect in the 2019 draft but has since failed to live up to his draft expectations, and Ed Ingram had a mixed-bag rookie season, flashing potential but also giving up 11 sacks.

There’s a lot of potential in this group, and they’re in the top half of the league, but the interior right has to play better.

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Green Bay Packers

Offensive line from left to right: David Bahktiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, Yosh Nijman

When healthy, Bahktiari is arguably the best left tackle in the league. The problem is that he missed six games last year and only played about half the snaps in three others. And that’s after missing all of 2021.

Jenkins is next, and he was going to be every Bears fan’s top free agency target this offseason until the Packers wisely locked him up on a long-term deal.

The rest of the offensive line for Green Bay is pretty mediocre. Myers and Runyan are both relatively young players (and Nijman is still just 27) who could conceivably get much better. Still, another year of average performances could see them looking for new teams next year.

The left side of Green Bay’s offensive line is just about as immovable as a line can get, but everything to the right is where defenses can expect to get pressure on the quarterback.

Chicago Bears

Offensive line from left to right: Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright

A stark difference from the game of musical chairs the offensive line in Chicago played last year, this offseason has already seen the starting five set in stone.

Jones is the only player from last year returning to his position. As a left tackle, he showed fantastic improvement throughout the season and flashed the potential of a long-term starter. Jenkins has injury concerns, but after kicking inside from his tackle position, PFF graded him as the third-best guard in the league (the tape matches the grade for those concerned about the subjectivity of PFF grades).

Whitehair hasn’t played Center since 2018, but when he did he was a Pro Bowler, the Bears’ first Pro Bowl Center since Olin Kreutz retired. Even if he can’t return to Pro Bowl form, he should be a colossal upgrade over last year’s starting Center.

Davis was a highly coveted guard from Tennessee, giving up just three sacks and 14 pressures on 385 pass-blocking snaps last year, according to PFF. Finally, at arguably the weakest and most chaotic position on the line last season, Wright is expected to stabilize and anchor the right side. Playing against the best competition in college football and dominating such elite pass rushers as Will Anderson Jr. earned him a Top 10 draft selection, the first Top 10 pick the Bears have spent on an offensive lineman since Jimbo Covert in 1983.

The pressure on Wright’s massive shoulders is, well, massive, but if anyone on this line can meet and exceed expectations, it’s him.

Bears must prove it on the field to emerge from the NFC North O-line basement

Going into 2023, I expect the Detroit Lions to continue to dominate in the trenches, and their offensive line will be the best in the division.

Picking the next two in the NFC North is tough because I believe Minnesota and Green Bay’s offensive lines have similar floors and ceilings, but I’ll give the nod to Green Bay and leave Minnesota at third.

So, as things stand now, the Chicago Bears still have the dubious distinction of having the NFC North’s worst offensive line. However, that comes with an enormous caveat considering the sheer potential of this group.

Jones and Wright can potentially be bookend tackles for the next decade. Jenkins when healthy is one of the best guards in the business, and Davis is generally rock-solid. And if Whitehair gets back to 2018 form? We could be looking at a line that rivals Detroit’s.

However, as I said, they must live up to that potential before climbing the rankings.