How would you rank the Chicago Bears 90-man roster heading into training camp?
Ranking 90-86 85-81 80-76 75-71 70-66 65-61 60-56 55-50
40. Pat O’Donnell
Pat 0’Donnell is entering year five with the Chicago Bears that is a pretty solid run. Considering some of the issues that the Chicago Bears have faced on special teams, having a reliable punter is going to mean more to this team than to others.
They have not been able to find a kicker in the Ryan Pace era. To have this position locked down means something. O’Donnell is also coming off of the best season of his career. His average of 47.yards was the best of his career.
Still, the question comes down to just how valuable can a punter rank on one of these lists? In comparison to Sherrick McManis, where would you rank him? McManis is only a special teams player. However, he plays on a variety of units.
At the same time, unless McManis makes a tackle, he has little impact on the play. When it comes to the punting unit, the majority of the pressure is on O’Donnell. Maybe it is five plays per game. Still, he is as valuable as a quarterback for those five games.
That puts him over a player such as McManis, but this seems to be as high as his value can be.