When the Bears drafted Teven Jenkins in the second round of the 2021 draft, the thought was that he would be their left tackle of the future.
A back injury spoiled his rookie season and Jenkins fell behind other players on the depth chart heading into this season, which led to questions about whether he’d even be on the roster this season. The prospect of remaining in Chicago looks a bit more likely thanks to a position change.
Jenkins has started working at right guard and got the start at that spot in Thursday’s preseason game against the Seahawks. Jenkins said his reaction to the change was “all positive” because it provided him with a path to playing time.
“I felt like I did good,” Jenkins said, via NBCSportsChicago.com. “It’s just, overall, I have some good things, bad things to clean up, and that might be because of my adjustment period going to guard. The NFL is about production now. They don’t care how long it takes, it needs to happen now. I need ramp up my process to go from tackle to guard.”
Jenkins wouldn’t be the first player to bounce inside after entering the NFL with designs on being a tackle and finding a home at guard would benefit him as well as a Bears team in search of offensive consistency that has eluded them in recent years.