Chicago Bears: 5 Players who could lose depth chart positions at camp

Could Bilal Nichols lose his starting spot during training camp?

I know, I know. Another name you were not expecting to see on this list. Unlike Teven Jenkins, Bilal Nichols could lose his starting spot not because he is playing poorly (or it could be), but because Mario Edwards could perform so well it forces Sean Desai to put Edwards on the starting line over Nichols.

In 2018, Bilal Nichols showed flashes as a rookie. Fans and coaches were excited about his future as he finished the season with three sacks and 10 pressures despite only playing on 31 percent of the defense’s snaps. Nichols had a sophomore slump though in 2019. He played 41 percent of the defense’s snaps that year, but finished with zero sacks and only four pressures. He bounced back in a big way last year though with five sacks and 16 pressures while playing on 58 percent of the snaps.

The point here is, will we see Nichols build on his preformance last season as he enters a contract year, or will he slump again as he did in 2019? Mario Edwards has not been consistent either and that’s why he is on his fourth team in four years.

That said, he is also coming off a solid year in 2020 and that’s why he is back in Chicago. Edwards finished with four sacks and nine pressures while playing on only 24 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. It’s possible he fights and wins the starting nod over Nichols opposite of Akiem Hicks?