3 stock up Chicago Bears after one week of training camp

2. The Chicago Bears are throwing Tyrique Stevenson into the fire

Tyrique Stevenson was a second-round draft pick, but the Chicago Bears traded up to get him, so you know they valued him a bit higher than he was selected. It shows that the team has been throwing him into the fire by starting him with the first-team defense from day one on.

This is notable for two reasons. In nickel, Kindle Vildor started on the outside. You do not hear much of anything about Vildor with the starting defense now. That is impressive to beat out a starter on day one.

More than that, in base, it was Kyler Gordon on the outside. Now, all of the talk is that Gordon is singularly focused on playing the slot this year. Gordon said he is still working on the outside, but he has been behind Stevenson when that occurs. Gordon was a second-round pick too, and he was taken just last year.

We thought that Stevenson would beat Gordon, we did not know it would come within the first week. That speaks to the upside that Stevenson is bringing to the table.