Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: Five Players to Watch

Adrian Amos, Safety, CHI

Aug 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Rex Burkhead (33) is tackled by Chicago Bears free safety Adrian Amos (38) and outside linebacker Shea McClellin (50) after making a catch in the first half in a preseason NFL football game at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears will trot out rookie safety Adrian Amos to start this week against the Packers. The team drafted Amos in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and he was able to beat out Brock Vereen as the team’s starting free safety.

Amos is an athletic defender with great coverage skills. He was an impressive player at Penn State in college, and while he did play a little bit of safety, he was primarily a cornerback. Amos had a ton of success as a college cornerback, but his size always made a transition to safety in the NFL likely.

In a typical Fangio defense, one safety plays in the box towards the line of scrimmage, while the other is deep in coverage. The Bears are set at the “in-the-box” safety position with veteran Antrel Rolle holding down the fort. Amos’ obvious ability in coverage gives him great upside as the deep safety, but he is a much bigger unknown.

I like Amos as a player, and particularly like what he showed in the preseason slate of games. That being said, he is a raw talent who is going to make some mistakes, especially considering he has played very little at the safety position in his football career. Amos will be the Bears’ primary deep safety on Sunday, and he is going to get a crash course on the NFL game as he directly opposes Rodgers.

If Amos can hold his own against the Packers’ league-leading offense, the Bears may have a chance to slow them down. However, if he has mental lapses that turn into big plays for the other side, the Bears’ defense is going to give up a lot of points.

I am not expecting much out of the Bears’ defense on Sunday, but if they can just hold serve, the team could have an opportunity to win the game. Amos’ play at free safety will go a long way towards determining whether the Bears’ defense can even hold serve.

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