Chicago Bears: Team confident James Daniels can shift to guard
Although James Daniels spent most of his time at Iowa playing center, the Chicago Bears feel confident he’ll make the transition to left guard successfully.
Last season, Chicago Bears lineman Cody Whitehair had a rough year. Because of injuries, he played both center and left guard. He had a good rookie campaign the season before filling in at center for Hroniss Grasu. Playing two positions in 2017 took a toll on him.
After a 2016 season in which Whitehair was one of the best centers in the NFL, he fell in 2018. Bleacher Report’s ranking of centers had him 29th of a possible 40 centers. This season, the Bears want Whitehair at one position and keep him there. They made several linemen signings in the hope to add quality depth. Also, they drafted Iowa center James Daniels.
We all know that the Hroniss Grasu experiment needs to end. It appears as if that will happen. However, who mans the middle of the offensive line?
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It looks like Whitehair gets another chance at the job. The Bears had Daniels spend the recent rookie mini-camp playing left guard. The Bears feel confident Daniels can make the move. Here is what head coach Matt Nagy said about Daniels.
"The benefit of having a guy like James Daniels is he can play different positions. So (we’ll) be able to let him come in here and play guard and see what he can do, learn from the other guys, let (offensive line coach) Harry (Hiestand) teach these guys the technique. He’s a young kid now, (and) his arrow is pointing up, (and) it gives us an opportunity to let Cody grow at center. That’s his spot."
Daniels does have some experience as a guard and feels he can play it at the higher level.
"My true freshman year at Iowa I played all guard. It’s hard, but you don’t have to make the calls and you don’t have to snap, which are two things that centers do that people don’t realize how hard it is."
As Nagy mentioned, Daniels has one of the best people to help him — Harry Hiestand. He is one of the best offensive line coaches in the game. When he first coached the Bears line he had multiple Pro Bowl linemen. At Notre Dame, he consistently had linemen drafted into the NFL. In this year’s draft, he had the best guard and the best tackle prospects (Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, respectively).
Next: Pressure now on Trubisky
Hopefully, Daniels does make a successful transition to guard. That way Whitehair can return to being one of the best centers in the NFL and continue to grow a camaraderie with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.