Preseason Stock Watch Week One: Deonte Thompson
How was wide receiver Deonte Thompson’s stock affected by his first performance in the preseason?
Thompson entered the first preseason game with a huge chip on his shoulder. Thompson is not a lock to make the roster by any stretch. Considering the resources the team put into the wide receiver position, and with expectations that Kevin White will be healthy, it is very fair to say Thompson was on the outside of the roster looking in to start the preseason.
However, his performance in week one of the preseason has some positive momentum pushing him much closer to the roster.
The biggest place that Thompson established himself was on special teams. Thompson opened the game as the starting kick returner and returned three kicks for 88 yards. He even ripped off a 44-yard return, but still averaged 22 yards per return without it.
Thompson was targeted a team high eight times in the passing game. He led the team in catches, with five, and yards, with 64. Thompson was a favorite of Mitchell Trubisky late in the game and had two strong sideline catches to build trust with the rookie quarterback.
If Thompson is going to win the kick return job, it does not matter what he does as a receiver, he is on the team. Still, it was great to see him break away from names such as Josh Bellamy and Rueben Randle as a more relied on receiver.
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Thompson was certainly a fringe player coming into the game, but he made a much stronger case for his roster status than most of the other receivers in the first game. Thompson stock is most certainly on the rise as of now.