Teven Jenkins went from a trade candidate to the Chicago Bears‘ best offensive lineman in a matter of weeks. After flaming out as their supposed left tackle of the future, Jenkins faced career uncertainty. Then offensive line coach Chris Morgan threw him a lifeline. They were going to give him a look at right guard. Rather than resist the move, Jenkins understood right away this might be his best chance to play in the NFL. So he embraced the change. After some initial alternating snaps with Lucas Patrick, he took over the job entirely in September. Since then, he’s become, by far, the best blocker this team has.
Experts outside Chicago have taken notice. Brandon Thorn of Trench Warfare is widely considered one of the top offensive line analysts in the field. He’s taken a liking to Jenkins in recent months. Not only does he see a big, powerful young man, but he also sees a growing technician with understated athleticism. While some tackles don’t translate well to guard, he immediately understood the Bears’ decision when he heard about it. Having watched tons of tape on Jenkins at Oklahoma State, he had several names in his head that the second-year lineman could end up mirroring, according to Adam Jahns of The Athletic.
In Thorn’s opinion, there are other guards who are winning in the NFL in similar ways as Jenkins, mentioning Rodger Saffold, Wyatt Teller, Trey Smith, Elgton Jenkins, Landon Dickerson, (Quenton) Nelson and Michael Onwenu in that order.
“That a good half dozen or more guys that I think stylistically, you can see some similarities here, in kind of how they win,” Thorn said.
Teven Jenkins deserves Pro Bowl consideration.
He won’t get it because the Bears are 3-10, and the offensive line as a unit hasn’t been overly great. However, a closer examination of his play shows he is as good as any other guard in the NFC. Whether he gets the nomination is immaterial. The fact he’s playing at this level is what matters. It means the Bears may have their first genuine blue-chip talent on the offensive line since Kyle Long. This development is vital to the team’s current restructuring of the roster around Justin Fields.
If they can put somebody of equal ability at center or right tackle, it could give the Bears a dominant area of their offensive line. That would mark the first time it’s happened in over a decade. Not since Olin Kreutz and Ruben Brown were teammates in the mid-2000s. Teven Jenkins’ emergence has circled the 2021 draft class as maybe the most important in recent Bears history. Together with Fields, the franchise suddenly has two young studs to build around. If Thorn is correct, then this team is going to get serious in the near future.
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Maybe with the O-line improving and Leatherwood hopefully showing he can be the right tackle of the future the Bears can focus more resources towards improving the defense and wide receiver group this offseason
Watched a video clip about Alex Leatherwood’s plays against “you know who” that compared his technique with some old clips from his time with the raiders. I’m certainly no expert, but it looks like he’s being coached and might become a serious Oline partner with TJ. Got my fingers crossed…Bear Down!
That 2021 Bears’ draft class (in addition to Teven Jenkins and Justin Fields) included Khalil Herbert and Larry Borom.
Thanks, Ryan Pace!
I started posting Tevin Jenkins, and I almost typed Tavern Jenkins. Haha! Lol! Jenkins looks good even if I’m in the tavern too.