If starting Andy Dalton at quarterback isn’t enough, the Bears will have a different left tackle for the first time since 2015 in Teven Jenkins, and a starting right guard who has never played this position in an NFL game.
The Bears needed change of some sort to deliver a real jolt to an offense stagnant since the glory years under Marc Trestman.
By that measure, Dowell Loggains’ offense might have been the glory years because in 2016 the Bears ranked 15th on offense.
It might not even be an upgrade but after they finished 30th, 21st, 29th and 26th on offense the last four seasons with Trubisky as starter for 37 of the 48 games, it was about time to do something drastic.
Montgomery seemed to have everything going his way at the end of last season, as he tied for fifth in rushing with 1,070 yards following a disastrous first half of the season.
If they can get the same kind of production they had last year when he was in the final year of a contract, the Bears would no doubt be elated.
It’s uncertain whether they got him as he isn’t quite that fast, but he is fast, was drafted in the same round and he made the same number of rookie receptions as Hill.
Much has been made by analytics experts Pro Football Focus about Kmet not getting enough routes down the field and it is true he was catching shorter routes and trying to turn them upfield.
They may not want to run as much with Nagy calling plays this year, but they followed this multiple tight ends trend to start games even when Nagy was calling plays.
He approached OTAs with a bit of a wide-eyed rookie look but when minicamp ended he seemed sharply focused and intent on showing he can be a physical run blocker at training camp.
Switching positions in midstream had never been Whitehair’s strength but he emerged the best Bears blocker last year with a PFF grade of 75.0, high for Bears linemen.
He’s handling the cerebral part of playing center with ease, making all the line calls look easy.
Fairly effective as a left guard but not so much at center, Daniels now tries something entirely new at right guard after suffering a torn pectoral muscle and playing five games last year.
Ifedi moved out to the position where he struggled so much in Seattle and allowed only one sack during the final six games.