Drew Dalman: The Underrated Star Who Might Anchor the Bears’ Offensive Revolution

Review analysts' accounts of Bears acquisitions and its easy to find several players said to be the key ideal fit for what coach Ben Johnson wants to do with his offense.

Colston Loveland comes to mind as the Sam LaPorta type tight end, and then there is Luther Burden as a dynamic slot receiver in an offense that has greatly relied on slot receiver Amon-Ra St. Bown in the past at Detroit.

DJ Moore and D'Andre Swift often get mentioned as the perfect fit for the offense, although they are not recent acquisitions.

One player who flies under the radar in this regard but makes total sense is center Drew Dalman.

Pro Football Focus' Dalon Wasserman named Dalman the Bears' impact offseason acquisition based on Pro Football Focus data.

What Dalman has done the last two years according to PFF's analytics is elite level stuff but it goes beyond what the bean counters at that website say.

"His 94.3 run-blocking grade in those concepts since 2023 ranks second among centers and fourth among all offensive linemen," Wasserman said about Dalman. "That bodes well considering Johnson called outside zone runs at the fourth-highest rate in the NFL last season."

When Johnson came to the Bears, he talked about an offensive line capable of multiple blocking schemes.

"If we get really good at a particular type of blocks, that's what we're going to feature," Johnson said. "We're not going to try to do something that doesn't make sense."

Considering Dalman's excellence, how Darnell Wright was ninth of 81 Pro Football Focus tackles as a run blocker and Braxton Jones 30th, and Joe Thuney has been four-time All-Pro and Jonah Jackson played in the scheme already, the Bears running game taking on a more wide zone look than previously anticipated only makes sense.

If the scheme does take this form then Ryan Poles' vision of a better running game even without adding to the running back room could become reality. 

"I really think with the additions to the O-line, you're going to feel that when we're looking at the running back positions in terms of how they perform and their efficiency this upcoming year," Poles said.

If the Bears running game takes off, then it's difficult to see how the passing game would lag behind considering all of the weapons they've supplied for Caleb Williams and that Johnson's pet passing approach is the play-action.