We are officially less than 24 hours away from a Chicago Bears football game!
On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs will visit the Chicago Bears for their first preseason game of 2022. It's been a long... loooooooong offseason, and it's finally coming to an end. I think I can safely speak for all Bears fans when I say I'm relieved to finally get to watch our team play some football.
There are three players I'll be watching more than the others when we play the Chiefs tomorrow. Surprisingly, Justin Fields is not one of them. There may be some offensive miscues in this first game, and we won't learn anything about Getsy's system this early either, so I won't read too much into what Fields does or doesn't do.
- Braxton Jones, LT
Our 5h round rookie starting at Left Tackle has been one of the biggest surprises of the offseason. Back in May, I figured this spot would belong to either Tevin Jenkins or Larry Borom, but Jones started taking reps at this position with the 1's back in OTA's and has not relinquished his hold on that spot.
It is impossible to overstate how beneficial this would be for Fields, General Manager Ryan Poles, and the Chicago Bears offense if Jones turns out to be a stud left tackle. It would give our offensive line a much needed boost, would provide Fields with better protection, and it would give Poles some legitimacy as a talent evaluator for snagging this guy in the 5h round.
Thus far he's been nothing but impressive, but now it's time to see him impress us on the field against an opponent.
- Jaquan Brisker, S
Our 2nd pick, with the pick we acquired from the Chargers from the Khalil Mack trade, already has me hyped. Brisker has been making big plays seemingly every day in camp. He's been pulling in interceptions, knocking the ball loose, sticking to receivers, and not giving up anything easy.
What I really love about Brisker is well his style of play seems to mesh with Eddie Jackson. Jackson, as we all know, was a ballhawk back in 2018, but his production cratered when former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and a former safety (who will not be named because he went to that team) left in the 2019 season.
Since then, our safety room hasn't been very good, and Jackson has been forced to do more of the things he's not good at and less of what he is good at. With the addition of Brisker, that looks ready to change. I think we're going to see a big resurgence from Jackson, and Brisker will be in the mix to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
- Every Wide Receiver not Named Darnell Mooney
Mooney is a legit weapon. We already know what we have with him, and we know how good his chemistry with Fields is. Everyone else? They are question marks. There's a ton of potential and upside in our wide receiver room right, and I have high hopes that at least one of these guys will prove to be a diamond in the rough, be that Dazz Newsome, Tajae Sharp, Equanimeous St. Brown, or whoever.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that Byron Pringle or Velus Jones Jr. (V12) will be healthy enough to play. Those guys are Poles' biggest additions to the wide receiver room, so they're shouldering a lot of pressure and expectations to give Fields reliable production throughout the year. It sucks that we'll have to wait at least one more week to see them in action.
What about you? Which Bears players are you most excited to watch tomorrow?