Where would you rank the Bears tackles in pass protection?

We told you guys all about the NFL Next Gen Stats when Zebra Technologies, the team behind the analytic, met with Josh Sunderbruch a few weeks ago. Josh was their guest at the Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and he shared with his thoughts on what he learned in a WCG-exclusive two-parter here and here. The Next Gen stuff isn’t “grades,” so there is no human element in their analysis. They just take data they collect and share it with us football fans.

One of their latest metrics is the Pass Block Win Rate (PBWR) that measures when an offensive lineman holds a pass rusher off for more than 2.5 seconds. That sentence is the very basic CliffsNotes version, but for the full explanation you can check out ESPN right here.

Earlier today ESPN Insider ranked all 32 tackle tandems in the NFL according to PBWR, and the results may surprise many of you.

The Bears’ duo made the top ten, and check out what they had to say.

9. Chicago Bears

Left Tackle: Charles Leno Jr. (85 percent)

Right Tackle: Bobby Massie (82 percent)

Leno has been solid protecting Mitchell Trubisky’s blind side, but he struggled against Chandler Jones. In the Bears’ narrow Week 3 win over the Cardinals, Leno’s PBWR was just 67 percent.

I’m not surprised at their ranking so far this year. While Massie has struggled at times during his Bears’ career, he’s been a decent this season. And Leno has been a solid pass blocking left tackle for a while now.

With as much as the Bears throw the ball under head coach Matt Nagy, having quality pass protection is a must.