Bears Preseason Grades: Ja’Tyre Carter leads the way on offense vs. Titans

The Chicago Bears’ 2023 preseason is officially underway. The Bears defeated the Tennessee Titans, 23-17, in Saturday’s opener and provided fans with a more extended look at some players fighting for a starting job, key backup role, or roster spot.

One of those players is guard Ja’Tyre Carter. The seventh-round pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Carter joined the Bears as an unfinished product from Southern. He’s been lauded as a player with upside, and we saw it against the Titans’ reserve defenders.

Carter finished the game tied for Pro Football Focus’ highest grade on offense for the Bears: 93.9.

Reserve tackle Larry Borrom also scored an elite 93.9.

Carter’s score is based on a large sample size, too. He played 39 snaps, it’s not like he had one good series and called it a day. He excelled as a run blocker, scoring a 91.3.

Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent fared well in his NFL debut, too. He scored an 87.6 from PFF on 17 snaps, including an 86.5 passing grade. Sure, it was only one limited preseason appearance, but Bagent, an undrafted rookie from Sheperd, looks like he belongs. We’ll see if he can stack another strong preseason game against the Colts on Aug. 19.

The poor performance of backup quarterback PJ Walker helped Bagent’s quest to make the Chicago Bears roster. The former Carolina Panther was the Bears’ lowest-graded player on offense against the Titans with a 42.9.

Walker’s putrid grade should not surprise anyone who watched the game. He was terrible. In fact, he was so bad it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bears added another arm at some point in training camp.

Rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott was disappointing, too. He fumbled his only reception and didn’t look comfortable as a returner. His 46.2 grade was the lowest of all Bears skill players, including Velus Jones Jr., who registered a 62.5.

Running back Roschon Johnson was the rookie most Chicago Bears fans were eager to see against the Titans, and he was, in a word, OK. His on-field play was more encouraging than his Pro Football Focus grade (59.5) suggests. He had a nice 24-yard run to begin his outing and showed toughness as a runner and in pass protection. However, if he wants to challenge for first-team reps, he must be more efficient with his touches.

Roschon Johnson running MAD pic.twitter.com/u4T04h7cxw

— Bears Nation (@BearsNationCHI) August 13, 2023

Here’s a quick snapshot of the Bears’ three best and three worst grades on offense from Week 1 against the Titans:

BEST:

Ja’Tyre Carter (G): 93.9 on 39 snaps
Larry Borom (T): 93.9 on 41 snaps
DJ Moore (WR): 92.6 on three snaps

WORST:

PJ Walker (QB): 42.9 on 16 snaps
Robert Burns (FB): 45.7 on 11 snaps
Gabriel Houy (RT): 46.0 on eight snaps