Did this Wide receiver secure a job with Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears wide receiver competition is one of the most open battles on the team’s depth chart. This made the first preseason game huge to track movement and see which players are trusted, and how they grow from week to week.

One player who made a strong impression during his first preseason game was Dante Pettis.

Will Dante Pettis make Chicago Bears roster?

One area where Pettis started to shine was in the return game. As a punt return option, Dazz Newsome muffed a punt, picked it up, and then lost more yards. On the flip side, while Pettis was not flashy, he fielded three punts cleanly and made good calls.

Still, more than moving up over Newsome on the depth chart was this play below that quite impressive. Watch number 86 on the outside as he takes on cornerback number two,

Pettis fires out and gets his hand on the defender. Then you can see that he grinds the player more than 10 yards down the field as he cleared the way for Trestan Ebner.

It is not the prettiest block, but Pettis is an undersized wide receiver and one of the things that has always plagued him in the NFL was his toughness. Showing the willingness to get his hands on a defender in the run game, then continuing to fight with him long enough to spring the run shows something they need to see.

Without Pettis staying committed to the block this would have been a five or six-yard run, but then by getting in the defender’s way, it sprung for a first down. These are the small plays that could get a player like Pettis onto the roster.

Special teams and blocking go a long way when you are not at the top of the depth chart. So far, Pettis is showing everything needed to make the roster.