Thuney remained an elite-level starter during his first season in Chicago, bringing his usual technical mastery, week-to-week consistency and championship résumé into Ben Johnson's offensive line-friendly system. Thuney is undersized by guard standards in terms of mass and length, but he continues to win with pristine footwork, strike-timing, hand usage and leverage manipulation. In pass protection, he is one of the league's most refined interior blockers, using spacing, hand-fighting skill and processing speed to diagnose line games, pass off stunts and stay connected without overextending. Bigger rushers can still test him through the middle of his frame, but Thuney's balance, positioning and ability to die slowly prevent most reps from turning into clean losses. In the run game, he wins more with timing, leverage and fit accuracy than raw displacement, arriving on schedule, creating quick control and steering defenders to open lanes. His feel for the position and technical precision continue to mitigate a lack of ideal size and power, keeping him among the NFL's most reliable high-end guards.

Smith produced another high-end season in 2025 despite kicking out to left tackle for the final three games. His game is built on elite, arresting play-strength, giving him the ability to latch, clench and end reps on command in a way few guards can match. Smith's anchor is one of football's best, and his ability to generate force through the ground allows him to absorb power, stop momentum and reset the terms of the rep quickly. He still has moments where he bites, drifts into oversets or lands his outside hand down the middle of rushers, creating quick edge access, but his movement skills and recovery strength usually prevent those losses from becoming routine problems. In the run game, Smith can uproot and displace down linemen at the point of attack, open lanes with raw force and deliver rare knockout blows on linebackers when climbing or releasing into space. Remaining refinement is necessary with his leverage maintenance and timing against slippery defenders, who can access his edges during the drive phase when he is late to re-leverage. Smith is not a fully pristine technician, but his power, anchor, recovery traits and impact-block ability keep him firmly in the top tier among guards.