Three Bears OL Among NFLs Best Run Blockers..............

Pro Football Focus: 3 Bears offensive linemen among NFL's best run-blockers

The Chicago Bears offensive line has been a big reason for Jordan Howard’s success over his first two seasons.

Not to take anything away from the talented young running back, but a big part of his skillset is understanding how to properly take advantage of the blocks his offensive line set up for him.

Run blocking isn’t really quantifiable from a statistical standpoint, but the analysts over at Pro Football Focus grade every block to determine each player’s impact in the ground game.

PFF released their list of the top offensive linemen based on run-block success percentage, and three members of the Bears made the top five at their respective positions.

Charles Leno Jr., Chicago Bears
Run-block success percentage: 12.4

Leno earned a career-high 80.4 overall grade this past season, ranking 15th among qualifiers. He also recorded a 12.4 run-block success percentage in 2017, which was also a career-high for the four-year veteran and ranked tied for fourth among offensive tackles with 150 run-block snaps.

Kyle Long, Chicago Bears
Run-block success percentage: 16.7

Long recorded a 16.7 run-block percentage in 2017, which stood 2.8 percentage points above his career average. He also earned a 76.6 run-block grade, which ranked 20th among qualifying guards.

Cody Whitehair, Chicago Bears
Run-block success percentage: 17.6

Whitehair ranked fifth in run-block grade (81.8) and fourth in run-block success percentage (17.6) in 2017, keeping pace with his high marks from a year ago. The second-year Kansas State product did take a major step back in pass protection, as evidenced by his 39.4 pass-block grade, in Year 2 of his NFL career, but if he can return to his rookie form in that regard, he’ll be back on track as one of the league’s top young centers.

Leno, Long and Whitehair are the building blocks of the Bears’ offensive line, and James Daniels is the next piece added to the foundation this offseason.

For this group, it starts in the running game, and Howard’s success should continue with his guys blocking for him.