Mixed reviews: Second wave of Bears new additions is far from slam dunk
The Bears decided to take an alternative path in rebuilding their offensive line.
While most teams save the big contracts for quality tackles, the Bears committed $47 million for the upcoming season on the middle three — guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, along with center Drew Dalman.
At the moment, those players have three of the seven highest salaries on the Bears roster, according to spotrac.com. At the moment, Dalman is the NFL's second highest-paid center, behind Kansas City's Creed Humphrey.
Bears Film Study took a closer look at Thuney and Jackson on Sunday, so here's Part 2, focused on Dalman and two new defenders, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
The best description for Dalman — whose signing has not been officially announced yet — is probably a nimble technician. His best skill is mobility. He's not a masher, not likely to pancake any nose guards. But when he does make a mistake or his man makes a quick early move, Dalman has the speed to move his feet, get back into position and be ready for a second effort.
A fourth-round pick of the Falcons in 2021, Dalman is reliable. He doesn't make bad mistakes or get beaten at the snap of the ball, which happened so many times to the Bears last season.
Dalman is probably the safest addition, the guy Bears fans can feel good about, since he's 26 and should be ready to step into his prime years. Thuney is a legend but getting older and in the final year or his contract. Jackson is coming off a lost season with the Rams where he was both injured and benched. The Bears are hoping better health and a new home can turn things around.
And obviously, the middle three will be new, but as of today, the starting tackles are still Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright. Both of those guys have struggled against elite pass rushers. If the middle is solid, but the edges are leaking, QB Caleb Williams could find himself under pressure again this fall.
Dalman and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett are NFL legacies. Dalman and his father, Chris, both grew up in Salinas, Calif., and played at Stanford. Chris Dalman played offensive line for the 49ers in the 1990s. Jarrett's father is longtime Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle.
Jarrett, who turns 32 next month, had a long history in Atlanta. He played there for 10 years, made two Pro Bowls and was franchise-tagged in 2019. Watching his film from the 2024 season, Jarrett looks like, well, a guy who peaked six years ago.
It was easy to find Jarrett's season highlight. It happened in Week 1 against the Steelers when he dropped Justin Fields for a 15-yard sack. Later in that game, he was credited with a half-sack after chasing Fields to the far sideline and cleaning up the tackle late.
Overall, Jarrett wasn't especially productive. Three years and $43.5 million feels like an awfully big commitment, especially considering Justin Jones — a defensive tackle the Bears let walk away last year — is getting less from the Cardinals.
The Bears starting tandem of Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter was pretty solid last season, but the defensive line lacked depth and really struggled when Billings was lost to an injury.
Jarrett has a good motor and made some plays last year because he kept working and eventually found the ball. And he did well in front of the microphone Wednesday at Halas Hall, so maybe he'll be a solid locker-room addition.
The Bears needed another pass-rush threat to open things up for Montez Sweat and settled on Odeyingbo, who had just 3 sacks last season for the Colts.
This signing is another head-scratcher. At 6-foot-6, Odeyingbo — whose signing also wasn’t announced Wednesday — seems like more of a lumbering giant than explosive athlete needed to pressure the quarterback. There's a reason he was overshadowed by Kwity Paye in Indianapolis.
Oddly enough, Odeyingbo also had his best game last season against Fields and the Steelers, picking up 1.5 sacks in Week 4. The previous week against the Bears, he didn't do much outside of one QB pressure working against Jones, who hurt his knee early in that game and didn't seem healthy.
Odeyingbo played both end positions, plus a few snaps at defensive tackle against the Bears. One time, he lined up on the left side of the defense and the Bears used 40-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis to block him, with no issues.
Here’s a play worth noting from last season: #Bears decide 40yo Marcedes Lewis can handle Dayo Odeyingbo, whom they just signed for $48 million (and Caleb throws a pick) pic.twitter.com/uVAr5ezZI6
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHSports) March 13, 2025
You never know how things can turn out with new coaches and a fresh start, but this class of new additions is far from a slam dunk for the Bears. In some cases, it resembles the quantity, not quality haul of 2023, when they got Nate Davis and DeMarcus Walker. ESPN called Odeyingbo the “oversign of the week” and graded the Bears a D for the Jackson trade.
The cap space is just about gone now and the Bears definitely need more help in the draft.