Preseason Stock Watch Week One: C.J. Wilson
How did the first preseason game affect defensive tackle C.J. Wilson’s stock?
Last season, the Bears were exposed in the middle of their defense. Eddie Goldman went down, and it caused players such as Mitch Unrein and C.J. Wilson to step in and fill the void. To say the least, it did not go well for the replacements.
The Bears signed John Jenkins in the hope that he could step in and compete for a depth spot backing up Goldman. However, so far he has yet to unseat Wilson. Wilson was not terrible as the backup last season, and he may be showing that he grew as a player and can be more relied in his second year on the Bears.
Wilson played the majority of the game after Goldman saw limited snaps. He played parts of the first quarter and almost the entirety of the second and third. He was clearly on the second team, lining up next to Jon Bullard and Jaye Howard, while John Jenkins ran with Roy Robertson-Harris and Kapron Lewis-Moore.
Wilson fared well in his bigger role as well. Wilson was in on three tackles, compared to just one for Jenkins. He also was a huge space eater and run stuffer on a fourth down run that ended a drive.
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It is still early, but in their limited time, Wilson looked to be a full step ahead of Jenkins on the totem pole. The backup nose tackle job appears to be his to lose, and after his first preseason game, he did little to lose that spot.