At the quarter mark of the season, we looked at the Chicago Bears rookies and gave them grades based on their performance. Now that we are halfway through the season we can look back at what the grade was then, and how we view the rookie now.
Grading the Chicago Bears rookies
Kyler Gordon:
Quarter Grade: D, Halfway Grade: C
Kyler Gordon obviously started off on the wrong foot. However, his best two games came in weeks six and seven. Still, some of that has to do with Washington and New England, their quarterback situations, and the effects on the passing game.
He was not as dominant when he faced CeeDee Lamb, Jaylen Wadle, and Tyreek Hill. Still, he was better in those two games than he was against the Packers, which is a start of progress.
Jaquan Brisker:
Quarter Grade: B+, Halfway Grade: A
We had to go from B+ to A. Maybe we were being too hard on Brisker, maybe it was the one-handed pick. Maybe it is that two of his three sacks, eight of his 13 stops, and his one pick all have come in the last month. He is better now than he was in week one, and that shows.
Velus Jones:
Quarter Grade: C-, Halfway Grade: D-
At the quarter mark, there was optimism and thought that he was just behind due to injury. The Chicago Beas essentially replaced his role on offense with Chase Claypool, and he lost his punt return job to Dante Pettis. With no real role, he was inactive.
Braxton Jones:
Quarter Grade: B, Halfway Grade: C-
Perhaps we were being a bit kind to Braxton Jones because a fifth-round pick was starting in the first month of the NFL season. Perhaps it is because the grade came before Montez Sweat dominated every snap on a national stage.
Two of the worst games we have seen from Jones came in the past month with a horror show against Sweat, and then a poor game against Miami. He lost to Melvin Ingram and Bradley Chubb repeatedly. He has shown growth in moments, but when the last game was one of his worst, it is hard to say the grade should be higher.
Dominique Robinson:
Quarter Grade: B, Halfway Grade: C+
Some of this is on the coaching staff. We thought that he may get a big role increase with Robert Quinn gone, and that has not happened. Still, some of this is his own doing. He is not playing more because he bites on everything in the run game. It is easy to take him out of play action, and it is easier to get him to crash inside and then run outside to his side. He needs to improve his discipline to get on the field but needs to get on the field to improve his instincts.
Zachary Thomas:
Quarter Grade: F, Halfway Grade: F
He is going to spend the year on the practice squad.
Trestan Ebner
Quarter Grade: B-, Halfway Grade: B
He is the third running back, so he is role has not gained much. Still, he is doing exactly what he was expected to do.
Doug Kramer: INC
While Zach Thomas was behind Lachavious Simmons in training camp, Kramer is missing a year due to injury. That is why he gets the INC and Thomas gets the F.
Ja’Tyre Carter
Quarter Grade: D, Halfway Grade: D
Carter had a better preseason than Thomas and the team went out of its way to keep him in a way that they did not for Thomas. So, he gets a slight upgrade.
Elijah Hicks
Quarter Grade: C, Halfway Grade: B
Over the first two weeks, Hicks was injured and inactive. Since then, he has become a core special teams asset. That is exactly what you want from this type of pick.
Trenton Gill
Quarter Grade: A, Halfway Grade: A