Gimme him: One player the Bears would steal from the Colts

The Chicago Bears (1-1) will look to get back to their winning ways in Week 3 when they head back on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) in a Sunday afternoon matchup. As they continue their tour through the AFC South division to begin the 2024 season, the Bears will need to see a significant improvement from all areas on offense in order to get back on track.

Coming off a loss to the Green Bay Packers (1-1), the Colts will have an opportunity to welcome the Bears to Lucas Oil Stadium as both teams look to get their second victory of the season. There has been plenty of criticism and scrutiny in the media this week surrounding the lack of production from the Bears offense and the play calling that has come with it. Another disastrous performance from the offensive line, allowing seven sacks against the Houston Texans (2-0), and an offense that stalled out in the second half, they'll have to make serious adjustments in Week 3.

Indianapolis is coming off their road loss to Green Bay, which saw backup quarterback Malik Willis, filling in for Jordan Love, throw his first career touchdown pass. Notably, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is still looking for the first touchdown pass of his career. Needing improvements from every level of the offense, the Bears would significantly benefit from one member of the Colts' offensive line, center Ryan Kelly.

The entire Bears offensive line has had poor play in the first two weeks of the season, but center Coleman Shelton has stood out almost more than anyone during his struggles. Although he's only had one penalty and one sack allowed in two games, Shelton has consistently struggled with pressure which has forced his teammates to have to help out, which then leads to players being out of place and giving up sacks, penalties, or negative plays. On the season, Shelton has a Pro Football Focus grade of 66.6, while in comparison, Kelly has a PFF grade of 76, and he's considered one of the most elite pass protecting centers in the league.

Kelly is currently in the final year of his contract with the Colts, which could mean he is someone the Bears put on their target list for next year's free agency. But in the moment, for this exercise, if they could just swap him to their sideline, it could make a world of difference in what has been an atrocious start for the offense this season. Kelly would bring consistency, chemistry with Williams, and a clear push to his teammates on the offensive line to play better and rally together.

There were certainly other players to consider for this, mainly running back Jonathan Taylor and almost anyone else on the Colts' offensive line, but getting it right with the center position seems imperative to turn things around for this unit.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Gimme him: One player the Bears would steal from the Colts