The Chicago Bears have plenty of needs heading into the 2021 season, and they’ll be looking to address them in the NFL draft. The lone opportunity for teams to get an in-person look at these prospects comes at the Senior Bowl, where some of the best players in the country showcased their skills in practice and will do the same in the game on Saturday.
The Bears will be looking to the draft for offensive linemen to shore up one of the team’s biggest needs. While Chicago appears to have a bright future on the interior of the line — with Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, Sam Mustipher and even Alex Bars — it certainly doesn’t hurt to look for some depth at the position.
Bleacher Report believes the one prospect the Bears should be paying very close attention to at the Senior Bowl is Tennessee interior offensive lineman Trey Smith.
Chicago should pay close attention to Trey Smith. At 6’5″ and 331 pounds, he has massive size for a prospect who projects best as an interior offensive lineman. His lack of lateral agility and athleticism will make it difficult for him to handle the responsibilities of an NFL tackle, but his play strength and aggressiveness would make him an appealing offensive guard.
Smith has the power and mentality to dominate as a run-blocker, and he’s an adequate pass-blocker with decent hand usage and a solid anchor. He tends to pop up out of his stance too much and needs to focus on staying low, but he’s still capable of winning in the trenches.
Obviously offensive tackle remains the biggest need on the offensive line, especially with Bobby Massie primed to be a cap casualty this offseason. The Bears have paid their tackles Massie and Charles Leno well, but they haven’t exactly lived up to their deals.
Smith is just one of many prospects the Bears have likely had an eye on this week at the Senior Bowl.