Chicago Bears Preseason Week One Winners and Losers

Who are some winners and losers of the Chicago Bears second preseason game?

Week One of the preseason, the Chicago Bears second preseason game. However, you refer to it; we are still in the very early stages of learning some of the fringe roster and depth players. After noting some of the deeper depth players in the Hall of Fame game, we mixed in some starters. Who made strides, and who started their journey to the roster or a strong 2018 season?

Winners

James Daniels

Much of the talk this offseason has been about whether or not James Daniels would play guard, center or both. As it turns out, in his first preseason game, he played mainly at center. On top of that Daniels looked good at center. He played from the first quarter into the second half at that spot.

Considering he is a rookie second-round pick, all intentions should be that the plan is eventually for Daniels to slide into center. His athleticism could be elite at the position, and he flashed his movement in space in this game as well. We will see how quickly he can make this push to the starting lineup.

Adam Shaheen

We are still waiting to see the full intentions and usage of the tight ends under Matt Nagy. However, those questioning if Trey Burton will phase out Adam Shaheen should have gotten a decent idea. Shaheen looks improved and looks like he will be involved as he hauled in three passes for 53 yards.

He showed off some nifty route running and run after the catch ability. Overall, the full arsenal was on display, and we saw what we could start to expect from Shaheen.

Michael Burton

It is starting to become abundantly clear that this team is going to keep Michael Burton on the 53-man roster. They also plan to use a fullback next season. They are going to pass to the fullback and pass out of formations with a fullback and multiple tight ends on the field.

Burton did not catch a pass in this game but has two in the preseason. Still, he was motioned around on a third down to help expose a team and isolate matchups. Burton is a chess piece that Nagy wants to use.

Ryan Nall

After a slow start to his preseason, the wrecking Nall finally took off. He had nine rushes for 95 yards. A 69-yard dash aided that, but it was still a much more respectable game overall for Nall. As mentioned, his path to the roster has gotten tougher with the emergence of Burton. However, to see the game to game progression from a UDFA is always encouraging.

Deiondre Hall

Hall is a player fighting for a roster spot and showed a reason why he likely will make it tonight. Hall was everywhere, recording seven tackles. He flashed downhill with consistent tackling on defense and special teams. Hall has not had much traction to his name since being drafted but has the arrow pointing up heading into the third game.

Losers

Eric Kush

Kush was beat a couple of times in the run and pass game. Geno Atkins had a big day across from him. While Atkins is stiff competition, Kush is a player who needs to show impact to hold off a second-round rookie from starting time.

Daniels seeing snaps primarily at center is an exciting revelation. Still, once he is ready, Cody Whitehair is a ready-made left guard and Kush is back to being a swing guard as a backup. It is coming faster than Kush would like.

Taquan Mizzell

Mizzell got the start and got the majority of the carries in this game. A huge momentum boost. He did not take advantage. Mizzell had 12 rushes for 27 yards. He added in two receptions for 11 yards. He had a touchdown, but it was a short carry, and he also showed issues being stuffed near the goal line. His pass protection looked iffy as well.

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It has become clear that Michael Burton is ahead of Mizzell and Nall in the pecking order. The Chicago Bears could keep one, or neither, but certainly will not keep both. Nall is trending up, and Mizzell down.

John Timu

John Timu is all that this team has a linebacker at this point which is why he played the entire game. Timu struggled early on and let up a touchdown pass to Joe Mixon. It was an apparent mismatch. He got better as the competition got worse, but that is not necessarily a good thing either.

You could throw Jonathan Anderson in as well, as he has failed to show up yet either. It seems as though Anderson is being phased off of the roster. Timu may make it due to depth, but he is undoubtedly right on the chopping block.

Tanner Gentry

Tanner Gentry is officially on the Daniel Braverman path. He was seemingly force fed targets late into these preseason games. Despite 20 targets in two games, he has nine receptions for 72 yards and one touchdown. That is 3.6 yards per target. That is an awful rate for a running back starting five yards behind the line of scrimmage. Eight yards per catch is just as weak.

He has failed to make any significant or contested catches that flashed. The team added loads of talent to the position and Gentry is phasing himself out.

Jordan Morgan

We knew Morgan would not see a full game’s worth of snaps as he did in the Hall of Fame game. However, it was clear that the team saw that he was overwhelmed in that game and that he is a more significant project than expected. In this game, Morgan saw a decreased role. However, he still struggled. He spent most of his time at right guard and looked like he still has a long way to go. The issue is snaps may only get more and more precious. He is a practice squad player, and do not worry about any teams claiming Morgan on waivers.