Is the Chicago Bears Depth Chart a Glimpse of the Future or Just Talk?
The preseason iteration of the Bears' lineup dropped. Should we care?
I’M TIRED OF WRITING LUKEWARM takes on the intrinsic lameness of the NFL preseason. And I’m sure you’re tired of reading my lukewarm takes on the intrinsic lameness of the NFL preseason.
But I’m diving into the well one more time, because yesterday, the Chicago Bears comms department released the team’s depth chart for Saturday’s tilt in Buffalo, where they’ll likely get a heavy dose of Bills QB Josh Allen’s backup, one Mitchell Trubisky. (It’s unclear how much or if Allen will see the field.)
The Bills, on the other hand, will get a light dose of the Bears’ rookie (hopeful) phenom signal caller:
It’s fair to assume that the first team offense will be on the field alongside Williams, as it would be impolite to throw the kid out there with the practice squad, so this depth chart reflects some semblance of reality. The question becomes, does it reflect what we’ll see in Week 1 of the regular season?
QUARTERBACK
THIS WILLIAMS GUY is the starter. Hard stop.
The question here is, did Brett Rypen’s 3-touchdown performance at last week’s Hall of Fame Game give him the inside track to be Williams’ backup, or is Tyson Bagent still the guy?
That likely won’t be settled until preseason’s end, and it might be a fluid situation throughout the regular season. But in a perfect world, Williams will ball out, C.J. Stroud-style, and it won’t matter.
RUNNING BACK
THE SITUATION in the offensive backfield is analogous to what’s happening behind center, in that there’s a clear-cut starter and two dudes battling for the primary backup slot.
Presumptive lead back D’Andre Swift has a broader skill set than Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson — i.e., pass catching, pass blocking, that sort of thing — so barring a second-year leap from Johnson or some mid-career growth from Herbert, Swift’s The Man.
The current depth chart list reads “Herbert -or- Johnson,” so even the Bears don’t know who’s número dos. That said, there are Herbert trade rumors in the ozone, while Johnson, still playing on his rookie deal, ain’t going anywhere.
Do with that information what you will.
TIGHT END
IT’S COLE KMET and a cast of thousands.
New Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is fond of two TE sets, so it’s little surprise that Chicago is semi-loaded at the position. Gerald Everett is a starter-level talent. Wily vet Marcedes Lewis could be on the field every snap, and I’d be 100% cool with that. And don’t sleep on Stephen Carlson, a 27-year-old Princeton product who could be sneakily useful.
All that said, Everett brings home the fattest paycheck by far, and money talks, so he’s the clear number two.
CENTER
THE MIDDLE OF THE O-LINE has been a problem for the Bears since Olin Kreutz retired in 2011, so based on the above -or-, Chicago’s coaching staff is going to take a long, hard look at Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton — which means this depth chart gives us exactly no information about the position.
Moving on…
OFFENSIVE GUARD
MY GOODNESS, the Bears could sure use some guards.
On the right side of the line, Nate Davis has been a huge disappointment, missing six games last season, and delivering consistent inconsistence when he was on the field.
But it’s Nate or bust, as his two backups are journeyman Matt Pryor — who’s playing on his fourth team in six seasons — and Bill Murray, who isn’t the Lost in Translation guy. So I guess it’s, Go Nate, go.
Over on the left, the cupboard is relatively bare, so barring a last-minute acquisition, Teven Jenkins will see a whole lot of snaps. Last season, the 26-year-old was on the field for just 64% of the Bears’ offensive plays, so he’d damn well better be in hardcore game shape.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
MY GOODNESS, the Bears could sure use some tackles.
Last year’s first-round pick Darnell Wright is guaranteed all the field time he wants, and Braxton Jones is beginning to look like the real deal, but there’s only so much work they can handle.
Or is there?
Last season, Wright demonstrated one helluva motor, prowling the gridiron for a whopping 99.5% of Chicago’s snaps. Jones, on the other hand, had a 64.1% rate, so don’t be shocked if he splits time with 25-year-old Larry Borom.
The current depth chart is an accurate reflection of what we’ll see on the outside of the O-line at the beginning of September.
DEFENSIVE END
CHICAGO BOASTS a solid duo of starting EDGEs in Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker.
Chicago boasts an unproven batch of backup EDGEs in Dominique Robinson, Austin Booker, Jacob Martin, and Daniel Hardy.
This is a position of need, and over the next three weeks, Robinson, Booker, et al will have plenty of opportunities to either climb up or solidify their spot the depth chart.
I’m betting on Booker.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
DT IS ALL ABOUT the sophomores.
If Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens live up to their Draft positions — Dexter was tabbed in the second round, while Pickens was picked in the third — all good. If they repeat their meh rookie years, the Bears opponents could dominate on the ground.
Andrew Billings is a rock, however, and drives offenses nuts, so Pickens will need to fight for field time.
A cursory peek at the depth chart tells us that there’s not much happening beyond the three abovementioned players — so those three abovementioned players better bring the funk.
LINEBACKER
THE BEARS ARE relatively stacked at LB — and I say relatively in the sense that unlike what’s happening on the D-line, there are some near-starter-level options behind T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, and Jack Sanborn.
Noah Sewell might well be a first-teamer on about half of the NFL’s franchises, Amen Ogbongbemiga flashed potential during his three years with the Chargers, and Micah Baskerville doesn’t suck.
See? Relatively stacked.
CORNERBACK
ON THE OTHER HAND, what with Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson starting and Jaylon Jones and Terell Smith coming off the bench, the CB position is way stacked, and barring injuries or general weirdness, the corner depth chart you see today will very likely be exactly what you’ll get in Week 1.
SAFETY
THE REST OF THE defensive backfield ain’t too shabby, so depth chart-wise, don’t expect anything different moving forward. Jaquan Brisker and new arrival Kevin Byard III make for an impressive starting duo, but more impressively, the #2s — Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks — are legit. No tweaks necessary.
SPECIAL TEAMS
AGAIN, WHAT YOU SEE now is what you’ll get next month — and in this instance, that’s not a bad thing.
Kicker Cairo Santos has proven to be as reliable as they come. Rookie punter Tory Taylor could be a one-of-a-kind stud. The new kickoff rules will help return man Velus Jones Jr. go next level. And 36-year-old Patrick Scales will be long snapping until 2036.
This is really cool unit, possibly Chicago’s best special teams collection since the days of Devin Hester.
THIS ARTICLE’S subheader is, “The preseason iteration of the Bears' lineup dropped. Should we care?”
Maybe.
Heading into the second preseason game, there are a couple of minor positional battles to eyeball — starting center and backup quarterback being the most notable — so come Week 1, we won’t see a ton of changes or surprises.
So in answering the subheader, our caring or lack thereof isn’t important. Whether the O-line can keep Caleb Williams upright, or whether the D-line can squash the Jordan Loves of the world should be our concern.
This week’s depth chart doesn’t answer any of those concerns — snap counts will. So let’s get ourselves a sample size and revisit in October.