5 must-watch players in the Chicago Bears vs Chiefs preseason game

Must-watch Chicago Bears in preseason Week 1: Dominique Robinson, DE

He is very raw and will see more playing time than the previous Chicago Bears listed. He’s a backup at this point (DE5), but I want to see what he can do against other competition. Robinson has shown flashes at Halas Hall, but I want to see him become a consistent disruptor in the backfield.

If I had to guess, we will either not see Robert Quinn, or it will be a very small amount of Quinn. Expect to see a three-man rotation of Mario Edwards, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Dominque Robinson. What I’m hoping to see is Robinson showing enough to start pushing Mario Edwards out of that fourth defensive end spot. Nothing against Edwards, but I don’t see him as part of the future when this team is looking to make a run.

Robinson has already started making an impact and an impression during training camp. Although he will be going up against the Chiefs’ second and third-string offensive line, I’m hoping to see flashes out of him. Things to look for while watching Robinson are his ability to bend off the edge while rushing the quarterback, his patience during containment while protecting the run and when needed, and his ability to shed blocks.

Must-watch Chicago Bears in preseason Week 1: Braxton Jones, LT

Are the Chicago Bears really going to enter the 2022 NFL season with a fifth-round rookie holding down the left tackle position? Well, all indications to that question are a resounding yes. I absolutely love that Jones has pushed himself into the starting lineup and I find it even better that he’s kept Riley Reiff off the left side of the line. Instead, Reiff is playing on the right — the position he has admittedly stated isn’t his favorite of the two.

When we watch Braxton Jones, the key here will be him remaining consistent. When a rookie (I’ve listed four of them now by the way) starts playing in games while the lights are on (figuratively speaking), they tend to start to make mistakes. We will want to see good technique by Jones now that he’s playing in an actual game — even if for a very limited time.

While watching Jones, we will want to keep an eye on his mental mistakes. He needs to limit penalties. Keep an eye on his pad level. It is important for Jones to keep low and drive the defensive linemen on running plays while digging in hard on pass plays. I’d love to see him move fluidly and work his way up to the second level on run plays.