The Chicago Bears continued their strong preseason with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The penultimate game of the Bears' 2024 preseason schedule was a prime opportunity for players to continue their trend of making the 53-man roster.
Winner #1: Austin Booker
One of the biggest winners had to be Austin Booker. He had a breakout game in week two of the preseason, and the expectation was for him to move up the depth chart. The Bears did just that. Montez Sweat played this week, but that was good because it gave us a glimpse into what the depth chart will look like week one.
We knew that Sweat and DeMarcus Walker would be the starters, but in recent weeks, it was Dominique Robinson either stepping in for Sweat or as the third rusher. This week, it was Austin Booker.
The Bears rolled out Sweat, Walker, Booker, and Gervon Dexter as a four-man pass rush on third and long. That is their best, and fastest pass rush unit entering the season.
Booker is a day three rookie, so it should have taken him a few weeks, but he finally passed up Robinson and he will not look back. That will be the rotation we see in week one.
Loser #1: Cole Kmet
It is clear that Cole Kmet is not going to build on his big year last year. It was unlikely from the jump when you saw the team add Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and DeAndre Swift. Still, he not only is behind them in the pecking order, he is at the very least in a split with Gerald Everett.
Kmet has started the past two weeks. However, in the first time the starting offense played, he started with Everett. This time, he played more than Everett in the first drive, but in three drives with the starting offense, Everett out snapped him six to four, and saw more snaps in two out of three drives.
So, through two games Everett officially has more snaps with Caleb Williams than Cole Kmet. Kmet still is the better player on paper, and you could still look smart betting on him to out snap Everett.
However, it will clearly be closer to a 50-50 split, and that is not great for someone coming off of a 700-yard season.
Winner #2: Josh Blackwell
Joshua Blackwell should have locked up a roster spot this week. Blackwell was always likely on the inside looking out on the bubble, but this week should have solidified things, as he was a playmaker and showed in multiple phases.
Blackwell had a big tackle and a pressure on defense. He also was the best punt returner, which is big because it could save the team a roster spot. He is a multi-phase special teamer which is much more valuable than your typical return man.
Both Greg Stroman and Josh Blackwell have had to back up an injured Kyler Gordon in the slot before. In the preseason they have both taken snaps in there. However, the past two weeks have revealed that Blackwell still has the upper edge.
Loser #2: Dominique Robinson
Dominique Robinson continues to get pushed down the depth chart. We noted that he lost his spot to Austin Booker already. This is good news in one way, because he got to face weaker competition. However, he still made no noise. We are now going into year three without hearing much of anything from him, whether it be in preseason or regular season.
Booker passed him, but Daniel Hardy should be next. The rookie UDFA has flashed more in the past two weeks than Robinson has shown in two NFL seasons. He had a sack and a strip sack that resulted in a turnover. It is less about who earned it and more about knowing what Robinson is at this point and being intrigued by unknown upside with Hardy.
Hardy was still behind Robinson in this game, but you have to wonder if they will swap that next week. Or both could start next to each other with a roster spot on the line. They cannot hand Robinson a job after this weak of a preseason.