Key position battles to pay attention to at Chicago Bears training camp

The backend of the LB group is one to watch at Chicago Bears training camp

Obviously, Roquan Smith is the surefire starter at linebacker. He is the best player on the defense, and possibly the whole team. The Chicago Bears no longer have Alec Ogletree, Danny Trevathan, and Christian Jones. Instead, their depth at linebacker behind Smith consists of:

• Nicholas Morrow
• Matt Adams
• Caleb Johnson
• Joe Thomas
• Noah Dawkins
• Jack Sanborn
• C.J. Avery
• Christian Albright

The projected starters are most likely Nicholas Morrow and Matt Adams, but there is some quality young talent and some good veterans that could push for some consideration. There will be some pressure on Morrow and Adams to perform especially because they are veterans who will see most of the first team reps.

Caleb Johnson was an undrafted player who broke out in camp last year, and Jack Sanborn, C.J. Avery, and Christian Albright are all possible breakout undrafted players this year. Dawkins is a journeyman who could steal some reps away from some of the potential starters.

Pay attention to which sub-packages are being used with the first team and who pairs the best with Smith. Morrow seems like the main secondary guy to play with Roquan, but he has battled injuries in his career. Adams knows Matt Eberflus’ system from his days as a Colt. Still, there could be a rotation of the linebacking depth, especially with the way Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams use their personnel packages.

To start camp, expect to see a lot of Smith, Morrow, and Adams. As camp goes by, expect to see Johnson and Thomas getting some first-team reps as well. It is also important to notice the undrafted players that are playing because we saw what Caleb Johnson did last year. Linebacker will feature a plethora of names trying to earn a spot on the depth chart, so it will be an interesting positional competition.