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.
39. Kasim Edebali
Edebali was signed recently but presents some value that may get him onto the 53-man roster. Edebali has a connection to Ryan Pace. Pace scouted him out of college and brought him in as a UDFA when Pace was with the New Orleans Saints.
Edebali spent some time with the Saints and spent some time with the Denver Broncos as well. In both spots, he served as a fifth, depth pass rusher. It is a job that saw minimum snap counts, but he did look solid in his attempts.
In a breakdown we did of his play, we saw a player who certainly can compete for a roster spot.
It is not like he is playing a position loaded with depth either. There is going to be some real competition for a back end of the roster spots at the outside linebacker position. Edebali does not have much upside but has a pass rusher skill set. It could get him a chance on the roster that he likely would not have had somewhere like Denver.
38. Kylie Fitts
The Chicago Bears sixth-round pick from the 2018 NFL draft could end up being a nice steal. Fitts has a lot of the talent that is needed to be a high upside pass rusher.
Fitts was a four-star recruit who transferred from UCLA to Utah. At Utah, he could not stay healthy. When he was healthy, he was one heck of an edge rusher. It was just too rare of an occasion to see to gain draft buzz.
Then came the NFL combine. Fitts proved that he was healthy and that he has one heck of ceiling, testing to an elite profile. You can see the elite athleticism on the field, and the sign that he is currently healthy is encouraging.
If there is a player to put your chips on of the pass rushers, it is Fitts. However, be prepared to lose out with the injury questions. It is nice to hear he is currently healthy. We will see what happens when he puts on the pads and plays against the grown men of the NFL.
His upside puts him over a player such as Edebali. Fitts is signed for four seasons, while Edebali is signed for one. Fitts is also obviously much younger. Still, Edebali is going to be a better run stuffer out of the gate. He also presents a higher floor.
You do not know exactly what you are getting with Kylie Fitts. He could get hurt on day one of training camp. It might never click. However, the opportunity is worth the cost at this point, and he has the upside to shoot into the top 20 players.
37. Marcus Cooper
Last season around this time many had Marcus Cooper slated to start for the Chicago Bears. From there, Kyle Fuller bounced back and pushed Cooper down the depth chart. Cooper never really had the talent of a starting cornerback, but as a depth player-special teams blunder aside-he was never a problem. That is why the Chicago Bears brought him back.
Yes, he made the one major mistake against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Still, the team won. However, that moment spoke to the upside of what Cooper is going to bring to this team, and how much faith the Bears should have in him.
Cooper is going to be looked at as the fourth cornerback heading to camp. However, the team is ready to throw some names at him to compete for the spot. The obvious name to watch for is Kevin Toliver, who was already on the list.
Toliver is a UDFA, while Cooper was an unrestricted free agent. Nonetheless, Cooper has more experience heading into training camp and is going to be ahead of him on the depth chart. However, that job is open for the taking.
36. Bilal Nichols
Bilal Nichols is a fifth-round pick from Delaware. Despite playing in the small school, and playing defensive tackle, Nichols was able to shine to the point of being drafted.
Nichols put up 10.5 sacks over the past two seasons. It was enough to get him an invite to the NFL combine. At the combine, he showed that he is a high upside athlete who can translate his skills to the NFL.
He is above average compared to NFL standards in every athletic and physical trait. Nichols definitely has some ironing to do of his game. He has issues with pad level and struggled to get onto the field early into his career at Delaware.
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Still, his upside is not going to get him through waivers to the practice squad. He is going to make the team. Looking at the defensive line, he is essentially locked into the fifth defensive lineman spot behind Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Jonathan Bullard, Roy Robertson-Harris.
It means that as a rookie, he is not going to see the field more than ten snaps per game if things go well. Still, he is going to make the team and get to grow with the professional defensive line.
There are few expectations from Bilal Nichols this season. Still, he should handle his role find in season one and has a defined role.