Chicago Bears Offseason Stock Watch: Ryan Nall
Has the stock of Chicago Bears running back Ryan Nall gone up or down this offseason?
When looking at it from an opportunity perspective, Ryan Nall has to be considered a winner of the offseason. As a UDFA, Nall was a long shot to stick around two years. However, after a training camp battle with Taquan Mizzell, the Chicago Bears were able to keep Nall around on the practice squad.
In his second season, the Chicago Bears brought in more competition by way of Kerrith Whyte. Once again, it was the versatile Nall who stuck around and found his way onto the roster.
Now, in year three, his path to the roster is easier than ever. Heck, he is a David Montgomery injury away from being a starter in the NFL. That is one heck of a jump from competing with Whyte and Mizzell for end-of-the-roster status.
The Chicago Bears had plenty of opportunities to bring depth in and create competition for Nall. You can argue that the team had other issues to take care of and that they should not have spent any sort of actual assets on a backup running back.
There is also is a case to be made that the Bears are a Montgomery injury away from signing a veteran running back to step in over Nall.
Still, after David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, it is hard to look at a true running back and say that anyone is ahead of Ryan Nall on the roster. For someone who has consistently fought for a roster spot, having the easiest path to the 55-man roster of his career in year three shows that the Bears are happy with his progression. That is the sign of a player who has his stock going up.