10 Stock Up Chicago Bears from mandatory OTAs

5. Thomas Graham, CB

When the new General Manager comes in you have no idea how he feels about the players from the old regime. Some of the worst victims are the late-round picks who were rookies from the past regime.

Graham fell to round six, partly because he opted out of the COVID season. Still, he only got on the field for a handful of snaps, and all of it came late in the season. With all that in mind, the new regime could have easily cut him out and brought in the guys they wanted.

However, it appears as though the flashes Graham showed against the Vikings stuck with Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles. The duo liked him and even though they drafted a corner, they moved Graham into the slot, arguably where he should have moved as a rookie to get onto the field even sooner.

Still, this is not just a transition into the slot, they moved him into the slot and are having him play with the ones. Most reports coming out of OTAs insinuate that Graham will be working with the ones when training camp opens and that it is his job to lose.

This is a bit of a surprise considering he played outside last year and at Oregon, and on top of that, the team signed Tavon Young. Still, the things going against Young are his age and his injury history.

It would benefit the Bears more if the younger, cost-controlled player with a clean bill of health won the job. Keep an eye on this as camp opens up.