One Bears player is included on Pro Football Focus’ 2023 All-Breakout Team.
Third-year pro Teven Jenkins, who has switched from right guard to left guard in 2023, has a high ceiling and is expected to continue to improve. The 2021 second-round pick entered the NFL as a tackle.
"He kicked inside to guard in 2022, and his performance improved dramatically, as he put up an 80.7 offensive grade, an 82.2 run-blocking grade and a 65.9 pass-blocking grade," wrote Pro Football Focus. "With a full season as a guard under his belt, look for Jenkins to continue to make strides toward becoming one of the top linemen in the league."
Jenkins told reporters last week that the biggest differences between playing left guard and right guard is the footwork and "just using your hands and where they aim and where to hit."
"A big thing for me right now is my pass pro," he said. "That's the thing. I'm trying to get better at it. And this big break that's coming up right here [before training camp], that's exactly what I'm going to be working on the whole time."
Immediately after the Bears signed veteran guard Nate Davis in March, Jenkins received a call from offensive line coach Chris Morgan informing him that he would be moving to the left side. Jenkins appreciated being told so he could prepare for the switch.
"They signed Nate at whatever time in the morning, and five minutes later that's when 'C-Mo' called me and told me I was moving to left and to make sure I was all comfortable and ready to go when we come back to right now," Jenkins said.
"It gave me time to actually work on my footwork and my mentality. I got back in my playbook. Had to flip because certain plays are going this way and now they have to go this way. My whole mindset had to change. So it was very good to have that time in between."
