As the Bears search for a fix to their lagging running game, a solution could be developing within their offensive line.

Second-round pick James Daniels’ season has been divided into thirds so far: He didn’t play in the Bears’ first three games, then split reps with Eric Kush in the next three, and now has played every snap in the Bears’ last three games. While Daniels felt that soft landing of sorts, in which he rotated in and out on a series-by-series basis, was beneficial, getting consistent playing time has, in turned, help make him a more consistent player.

“It’s taught me that I need to focus on my technique because I’m not good enough, I’m not big enough or strong enough to just block people without any technique,” Daniels said. “When I’m in the games I just need to be super-focused, dialed in on the play, on the snap count and what my job (is) and how I need to do it, just things like that.

“… It’s just taught me to be better — of course, everybody I block, I have to be super focused. In college, you could get away with stuff. But here you can’t get away with it.”

Daniels, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades, had his best game of 2018 last week against the Detroit Lions. While it didn’t result in the Bears’ getting much out of their running backs — Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen combined for 36 yards on 18 carries — the Bears did see what he was able to do in that game as a step in the right direction.

“His consistency is good,” coach Matt Nagy said. “He’s learning. He’s a kid that I think Harry (Hiestand) right now is doing a good job of making him understand that there are going to be times where you’re going to be beat but making sure that he improves in those areas. Leverage-wise, one of his strengths is when he does lose leverage or maybe misses a block a little bit he can recover well.”

Perhaps it’s unfair to single out Daniels here, though that comes with the territory of being a second-round draft pick. But the Bears’ interior offensive line hasn’t had personnel consistency, lurching between five combinations of guards in nine games: Kush and Kyle Long played the first three games, then Kush and Daniels rotated opposite Long for the next three. Daniels and Long started against the Jets, then Long got hurt, leading to Kush and Bryan Witzmann rotating at right guard with Daniels starting at left guard against the Bills. Sunday’s game against Detroit was the first time since Week 3 that the same two players — Daniels and Witzmann — played every snap of a game at left and right guard.

The point here being that the interior of the Bears’ offensive line hasn’t been settled for almost two months. Consistent playing time for Daniels could help settle it, so long as he continues to grow with those regular snaps.

“Just being totally confident in what he's doing — we believe 100 percent in that guy,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “And just being completely convicted and confident at what he's doing and then the second is experience. For some guys, the first thing has to happen before the confidence comes. We need that to kind of, whatever it is, believe it before you see it type of confidence is hard sometimes for a young player.”