Assessing Arlington Hambright's fit with the Chicago Bears

Former Colorado tackle Arlington Hambright was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Hambright projects best as a guard in Chicago.

Here’s everything you need to know about Hambright’s fit with his new team:

THE ORGANIZATION

It’s been a rough stretch in Chicago.

The Bears went on a 12-4 run in 2018, but blew their postseason chances with a loss in the wildcard round. That’s the only time the Bears have made the playoffs since 2010.

But there’s still reason for hope.

Matt Nagy, 42, has won 20 games during his two seasons as head coach. That’s more wins than the Bears’ previous four years combined.

The team is still tied to Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles at quarterback, and there are plenty of holes throughout the rest of the roster, but there seems to be some stability throughout the organization, even if sustained success may be a few years away.

At the very least, the Bears have a strong history and aren’t known for putting their players in bad positions. For Hambright, that’s what’s most important.

THE SCHEME

Buckle up, because there’s a lot to unpack here.

Let’s start with some good news: The Bears will likely employ an inside zone blocking scheme that is very similar to what the Buffs ran during Hambright’s lone season in Boulder.

Rather designing a play to open a specific hole for the running back — as you’d see in a gap scheme — a zone scheme allows holes to develop organically, meaning it will likely be bigger. The only catch is that the zone scheme requires the running back to find the hole.

Rather than assigning each lineman one defender to block, the zone scheme typically dictates that the linemen pair off and double-team the defensive linemen. For a split second, the offensive line pushes the defensive line back, creating creases at the line of scrimmage, then one blocker stay to keep each defensive lineman at bay, while the other blocker moves up to the second level to hold off the linebackers. This process extends the creases in the defense so the running back can capitalize.

(Last year, Alex Fontenot broke out because the Buffs’ zone-blocking scheme highlighted his vision. He weaved his way through the middle of defenses because he was able to see the creases develop before the linebackers did.)

In the zone scheme, chemistry is brutally important. Since linemen are tandem blocking off the snap, they have to read how the linebackers are flowing to determine which of them will extend to the next level and which will stay behind to handle the defensive lineman. If both linemen extend to the second level, there will be a 320-pounder left alone to blow up the play in the backfield.

The Bears also relied heavily on 11 personnel last season, just like the Buffs. They ran out of the shotgun, and a bunch of the runs were actually RPOs. Again, the Buffs’ offense was very similar.

But the Bears signed Jimmy Graham, drafted Cole Kmet and still have Demetrius Harris and Adam Shaheen on the roster, so they may be putting more tight ends on the field in 2020.

Nagy found success when he switched to a zone-heavy scheme in 2018, but his 2019 running game wasn’t nearly as powerful so any scheme change would only come as a minor surprise.

.@ChicagoBears take your run playbook and rip it up. This is a nonsense run game. College option crap with tight ends sealing the LOS with crap cut blocks. Pretend like Papa Bear Halas is watching and win the LOS. This run game will never win in the post season #BaldysBreakdowns

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 22, 2019

The biggest question mark for Hambright, though, is whether he’ll be able to transition inside. Hambright doesn’t have ideal length to play tackle at the NFL level and unless the Bears need an emergency replacement at the position — which actually wouldn’t be a huge surprise, but more on that later.

Instead, Hambright should slide into the guard competition, where his body makes more sense. In a zone system, the run game responsibilities for tackles and guards are much more similar than in a gap scheme. The question is whether he can handle going up against the bigger defensive tackles, instead of defensive ends.

THE DEPTH CHART

The Bears’ interior offensive line is a mess.

You can pencil Charles Leno Jr. in at left tackle.

You can pencil Bobby Massie in at right tackle, but don’t forget that he missed six games last season.

Cody Whitehair moved from center to left guard before last season and then back to center about halfway through the year.

James Daniels made all the opposite moves.

When longtime Bears guard Kyle Long (who is no longer with the Bears) went down with a season-ending injury early in the season, Rashaad Coward took his place for 10 starts. Coward was a converted defensive lineman who had played in one game before last season. He’ll be 25 this year.

Cornelius Lucas III, 28, started five games at right guard following an injury to Coward.

Most importantly, the Bears struggled up front and they could feel that any combination of these pieces is to blame.

Chicago added Jason Spriggs and Germain Ifedi this offseason. Sprigs was a second-round pick in 2016 and Ifedi was a first-round pick in 2016, but neither has found any sort of success at the NFL level.

Hambright’s best path to success is likely a year of development at the back end of the Bears’ roster, but the mess in front of him could allow an early opportunity to play. At the very least, Hambright should be able to beat out enough players to earn a spot on this roster.