Chicago Bears Players Whose Stock Rose: Khyiris Tonga
I was on the fence here with listing Caleb Johnson or Khyiris Tonga as the final player whose stock rose during the Bills game. When the Chicago Bears put Mike Pennel on injured reserve yesterday, Tonga was the easy answer. This tells me that Tonga will make the final roster and not only will backup Eddie Goldman but will also see some significant time as a rookie in the defensive line rotation.
Too many times I kept thinking that Khyiris Tonga was a sixth-rounder, but he was actually a seventh-round draft pick this year. This is as close to being an undrafted free agent who proves teams wrong for passing on them as you can get. Yes, I know a sixth-round pick is similar, but the fact that Tonga has been able to generate the push he has been in the preseason is very promising.
The BYU product has not shown up on the stat sheet in a big way, but most defensive tackles, especially nose tackles in a 3-4 defense, don’t rack up big numbers. With his presence pushing the middle of the line, it helps free up the outside linebackers, defensive ends and even the middle linebackers. This is all you can ask from your defensive tackle and Tonga should easily make this final roster now.