Chicago Bears: 5 Players who could have a big season

Chicago Bears player no. 1: Lucas Patrick, Center

The offensive line might struggle once again in 2022. There still isn’t a right guard in place to fill in for James Daniels, who departed to Pittsburgh. The candidates to replace him (Sam Mutipher, Dakota Dozier, and Julie’n Davenport) don’t give off much hope.

Poles did a good job of adding more candidates by drafting four offensive linemen. They were all mid to late-round draft picks so expecting one of them to start right off the bat is difficult. Again, they add to the hope of the future.

On new face on the line who could be huge is Lucas Patrick. Patrick will replace Mustipher at center. He helps the team in a number of ways. First, he will change the attitude on the line.

He is a strong, nasty player who wants to eat up and destroy defensive players. Too many times in the past few seasons the unit got bullied by the opposing defense. That will change with Patrick around. He will play hard through the whistle, and at times even after the whistle.

Patrick won’t allow any bullying unless it’s done by the Bears’ offensive line. He’ll be the new leader on the line.

Second, Patrick comes from the Green Bay Packers. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy also comes from there so Patrick will have a better understanding of the system than the others. He can explain what the expectations are and help get the others on the same page.

Another way Patrick helps is in the development of quarterback Justin Fields. Patrick worked with Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Fields wants to get to that level and Patrick can give him advice on how to get there.

Patrick relishes the idea of being the alpha on the line. He’ll change the line’s attitude and make the line much tougher.