After the Chicago Bears rookie mini-camp, the team released Master Teague and wound up giving his roster spot to De’Montre Tuggle. Tuggle is another UDFA who apparently showed more during that weekend which gave the team confidence to bring him to training camp.
While Teague was the big name from Ohio State, Tuggle is the unknown back from Ohio.
Tuggle started his carer at JUCO, before transferring to Ohio in 2019. He took on a limited role in 2019, and then the pandemic shortened season hurt his chances of breaking out in 2020.
Tuggle took his extra year and made it work, carrying the ball 138 times for 804 yards, career highs in both. Tuggle also was a kick return option for the Bobcats. While he did not get invited to the NFL combine, he did work out at his Pro Day. Below you can see how he compares to Trestan Ebner, the Bears’ sixth-round pick.
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To be fair, they are stylistically different backs. Ebner is much more a receiving back, while Tuggle has 34 catches in 27 collegiate games. He is much more of a between-the-tackles grinder than a playmaker in space. During his first year at Ohio, he was almost used exclusively as a goal-line back.
Can De’Montre Tuggle make Chicago Bears roster?
The combination of power as a runner, and the kick return upside shows a combination that apparently was more intriguing than Master Teague. Considering he is more athletic, and better between the tackles than Ebner, he could be pushing the draft pick this summer as well.
Still, as noted, Ebner is a change of pace compared to David Montgomery and a better pass catcher than Khalil Hebert. Tuggle is probably closer to Hebert than Montgomery, but he is much more similar to both than he is to Ebner and Darrynton Evans.
Those two may compete for the change of pace role, while Tuggle is looked like the insurance player behind Herbert.