Sports Illustrated Names Chicago Bears' Most Underrated Player

The Chicago Bears will rely on several new faces to help elevate their team in 2023. Tremaine Edmunds, D.J. Moore, T.J. Edwards, Darnell Wright, and Gervon Dexter, among others, will be tasked with helping carry the load. However, the team will also need some players carrying over from last year to step up. There are obvious names like Justin Fields, Chase Claypool, Trevis Gipson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaquan Brisker. However, others will play a pivotal role in events to come.

Sports Illustrated columnist Conor Orr revealed the most underrated player from every team going into this season. It isn't who you'd first expect for Chicago, but upon reflection, it makes perfect sense.

"Braxton Jones is probably the choice, simply because he was a rookie fifth-round pick who anchored a young quarterback’s blind side comfortably like a seasoned professional, and if you’d like me to list one person, Jones can serve as one. But there’s a major point to be made about coaching and up-front cohesion that I think is worth making. The Bears were 31st in expected points added when executing a straight-up drop-back play in 2022 (thanks, Sports Info Solutions). Justin Fields was phenomenal last year, but not in a conventional sense, which puts a lot of pressure on everyone else to execute in a nontraditional way. The Bears did it through powerful gap runs and motion-heavy concepts that demand a lot out of their players."

So much of the Bears' offensive potential hinges on Jones this year. GM Ryan Poles elected to focus on drafting a right tackle in the 1st round because he strongly believed in the former 5th round pick. There is justification for it. Despite some obvious bumps, he did play well last season.

The Chicago Bears know Jones isn't far away.

One thing they learned last season is his run-blocking ability is no joke. By the end of 2022, he was arguably the best run blocker on the team. Again, that is saying something for a rookie mid-round pick. His mixture of size, mobility, and violent dispositions regularly opened holes for Fields, Khalil Herbert, and David Montgomery. The big issue was his pass protection. While not outright terrible, there were clear flaws he couldn't fix. There were struggles against stunts and a glaring issue when trying to stop bull rushes.

Such things are normal for rookies. The question is whether Jones can use this off-season to correct them. Early signs are promising. He spent lots of time working with former Chicago Bears legend Olin Kreutz. If anybody can teach him how to handle the best the NFL has to offer, it's him. Jones becoming a mainstay on the left side would be a boon for this organization. Finding good left tackles is hard. Stealing one in the 5th round is exceedingly rare. His ascent could change everything.