The offensive line is sure to get lots of attention from the Chicago Bears this offseason. Hardly a surprise when the offense finished near the bottom of the NFL in 2019. Outside of center Cody Whitehair and left guard James Daniels, there isn’t a lot of optimism on the front. Kyle Long has retired, leaving right guard vacant of proven starters. Left tackle Charles Leno regressed in a big way from his standout 2018 season. Right tackle Bobby Massie battled injury problems.
The buzz around the draft community is the 2020 offensive line class is one of the best seen in some time. Especially at the tackle position. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Bears are looking in that area. Perhaps for an eventual replacement for either Leno or Massie. One name that just popped up on the radar is Ben Bartch. You’re forgiven if you’ve never heard of him.
He made his name as the left tackle for the Saint John’s Johnnies in the Division III league. While not exactly a hotbed for NFL talent, scouts have been more and more impressed with him as the weeks have passed. It really started to grow during the Senior Bowl where he more than held his own again the best pass rushers the Division I schools could throw at him.
According to The Chicago Audible, the Bears met with him at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.
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Chicago Bears can likely get Bartch later on
Bartch is a fascinating case. He didn’t actually start his college career on the offensive line. He was asked to move there by his coaches and spent a lot of time changing his body to ensure he could handle it. Even going to extreme lengths to do so.
Now he’s 6’6 and almost 310 lbs, perfect size for an NFL offensive tackle. He is touted for being a good athlete and seems to have a strong work ethic. One of his biggest inspirations in that regard? It’s Michael Jordan. While interviewing at the combine, Bartch dropped an unprompted M.J. quote to help explain how he views things.
If you’re going to model your athletic career after anybody, who better than the G.O.A.T himself? It’s not certain where he will go in this draft. Given his background and need for work on his overall game, one can guess he’ll likely go sometime on Day 3 between the 4th and 7th rounds. The Bears have six picks in that range including a 4th round compensatory selection, a 5th rounder, two 6th rounders, and two 7th rounders.
Bartch would make for an ideal developmental tackle who could step in for either Leno or Massie by 2021.
