Chicago Bears: Ryan Nall makes last case for 53-man roster
UDFA fan favorite Ryan Nall has had some ups and downs throughout the preseason. Fortunately, he finished his preseason off with a big game for the Chicago Bears
Ryan Nall was the star of the game for the Chicago Bears preseason finale. The wrecking Nall put up 79 yards on just four carries. He ripped off a 32 yarder for a touchdown and also added a catch for two yards.
In a bit of a small camp competition, Nall proved much more valuable than Taquan Mizzell. However, entering Week Four of the preseason, he was likely on the outside looking in at the roster.
The Chicago Bears benched Michael Burton for this game, and that would be his main competition for the fourth running back spot. The Chicago Bears could keep five if they feel entirely comfortable with Ryan Nall. The question is, are they completely satisfied with him.
The answer is not likely. The two areas where Nall needed to make a case for himself were blocking, pass catching or in the return game. Matt Nagy preaches versatility. Heck, Nall was brought in off of his versatility.
While we saw Nall grow between the tackles, we did not see the versatility yet. He struggled in protection, was limited in usage playing the H-back spot and saw the team sign Knile Davis to give him a shot in the return game over him.
That is not going to get him on the roster, despite a few strong runs. Ryan Nall is the perfect practice squad candidate. He showed enough to buy into him, but not enough for him to get claimed on waivers.
Next. Javon Wims must make 53-man roster. dark
The team saw progress with Nall between the tackles and now can use a full season to completely round out his game with a strong chance of making the roster in 2018.
When the Chicago Bears added Nall, I speculated that Ryan Nall had a great chance to make the roster. While it would not be a stunner to see my prediction come true, I have certainly backed off and still see Nall sitting just on the outside of that bubble. He certainly made his case to get onto the 53-man tonight, though.