The Chicago Bears selected San Diego State offensive tackle Zach Thomas with the 186th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Chicago has plenty of questions at offensive line, including a vacant right guard position. While Thomas has played mostly right tackle and left tackle during his collegiate career, the Bears will likely kick him over to guard, where it just so happens there’s currently a starting right guard job up for grabs.
General manager Ryan Poles has used two of his last three selections between the fifth and sixth round to add offensive linemen to the roster in Thomas and Braxton Jones.
Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had to say about Thomas:
Tackle-to-guard prospect with run-blocking talent to work with, Thomas is a fit for zone-scheme teams as a sticky move blocker with the ability to shift and stay connected while continuing to keep his feet moving. He lacks the desired mass and power to generate much downhill push, but improved hand placement could help. His play strength, in general, needs an upgrade, as does his protection posture, to prevent defenders from exploiting certain flaws. Thomas has late-round potential and could find a place on an NFL roster as a guard with emergency tackle flexibility.
It took the Bears over three hours to make their first selection on Day 3 of the draft after general manager Ryan Poles made several trades to turn three Day 3 picks into eight selections.
Chicago still has five picks left on Saturday, including two more sixth-round picks (203rd and 207th) and three seventh-rounders (226th, 254th and 255th).
