After three weeks of the preseason, where do the Chicago Bears stand in their linebacker depth?
One of the important position battles to watch in the third week of the preseason was at linebacker. Yes, Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan are entrenched as starters. They sat out this game, mainly because they stand so far ahead of the rest.
This does bring the question of how do you sort out the rest? Nick Kwiatkowski, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods, and Kevin Pierre-Louis were all competing for two, and maybe three spots on the roster. The group has been up and down all preseason. Was there any movement in the third game?
Kwiatkowski started and played his best football of the preseason. He made plays against the run, as a pass rusher and in coverage. Kevin Pierre-Louis started next to Kwiatkowski, but Kwiatkowski looked to be the clear cut better player.
He has locked himself in as the number three. The question is whether Pierre-Louis is locked in as the number four. Woods and Iggy played well, but their best efforts were either late in the second quarter or in the second half altogether.
Pierre-Louis struggled as a starter, but Woods was poor as a starter last week and Iggy has not even been afforded that chance.
At this point, it is hard to say Pierre-Louis has done anything to get pushed down the depth chart. Woods made some key plays, but for as many plays as he puts himself in, he can take himself out.
Look for Woods and Iggy to find themselves on the practice squad as the other two have proven that they are NFL capable back ups.