Bears Preseason Week 2: Position Battles (Offense)

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Position: 3rd  RB

This is shaping up to be quite the battle. Shaun Draughn has the most experience and played really well Thursday, while unheralded rookies Senorise Perry and Jordan Lynch have been impressive when given a shot. Last year’s 3rd RB, Michael Ford, seems to have dropped out of the competition which makes me wonder about his roster spot.

Up: Shaun Draughn –  I didn’t think much of Draughn based off his statistics and the one time I had seen him play in KC, but after watching him Thursday night, I’m ready to re-evaluate. He was arguably the Bears most productive player with 33 rushing yards and two catches for 12 yards, but had about 30 more yards wiped out by penalties. Most of his plays were on 2nd or 3rd and long scenarios with the defense in prevent alignments, but Draughn showed soft hands, better speed and acceleration than I expected, and good pass-pro technique. He looks like a guy who could step in for short stretches and not embarrass himself, which is pretty much the job description for a team’s 3rd RB. Draughn played well enough that some think he has passed rookie Ka’Deem Carey for the #2 spot, but his touches came against dime coverages today so let’s not get carries away.

Up: Senorise Perry – I’ve been singing Perry’s praises to everyone that will listen since the Bears signed him before training camp. I feel pretty good after Perry’s performance Thursday night. Perry put the Bears on his back in their game winning drive. His signature play was a 22 yard reception which included three arm tackles ran through by Perry and a sweet spin move that broke another one. On the day Perry had 30 yards receiving and 4 carries for 13 yards, one of which was the game winning 5-yard run highlighting his agility and burst. I hope Perry gets at least a series in game 3 because I still think we haven’t seen the best of what Perry can offer.

Down: Michael Ford – No carries for last year’s preseason star… Not a great sign for his chances of making the roster.

No Change: Jordan Lynch – No carries for Lynch either which is disappointing after how well he played in his first game as a RB last week.