11 most interesting Bears to watch before training camp

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Whether you’re a Bears fan or not, everyone plugged into the NFL is excited to see what becomes of the quarterback competition between Andy Dalton and Justin Fields, and how Fields performs once he does make his debut. But outside the quarterback room, there are plenty of other intriguing players to follow as well. On the latest episode of the Under Center Podcast, we went through our top-five most interesting players to keep an eye on this season, and interestingly all three of our lists featured several different names. Without further ado, here’s who we will be watching with rapt attention this season, and why.

David Montgomery

“I expect, if he’s healthy enough and gets enough reps… people when they run down the top-five running backs in the league, after this season, if David Montgomery is healthy, he will be listed (among) Saquon Barkely if he’s healthy, Christian McCaffery, maybe Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) and then David Montgomery” - Kenneth Davis

Damien Williams

“I’m interested to see how Matt Nagy deploys him in the offense. How many touches is he going to get? Is he going to be lining up out wide or in the slot?... We all saw what he did in the Super Bowl. I personally thought he should have Super Bowl MVP when the Chiefs won that Super Bowl, even though we all knew it was going to be Patrick Mahomes. So I want to see what he can do with the Bears. And what does this mean for Tarik Cohen and David Montgomery?” - Alex Shapiro

Darnell Mooney

“Cannot wait to see what this kid’s ceiling is, because I think we know what he is. We know he is an incredibly talented, and detail-oriented receiver already, just after one year. I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what this guy can do on the football field… having competent play at quarterback this year, is going to unlock him as a deep threat.” - Eric Strobel

Eddie Jackson

“Hopefully with his familiarity with Sean Desai, he can get him playing in the right places in center field to play like he was in 2018... He’s a player that if he really balls out, he can really set up this defense and this defensive backfield… we’ll have a pretty year as Bears fans.” - Kenneth

Jaylon Johnson

“Jaylon Johnson, to me, has a lot riding on his shoulders this year. Obviously we know they lost Kyle Fuller for cap reasons. I think part of that had to do with their confidence in this kid. It’s not the only reason, but I’m sure it played a role… Secondary is clearly the possible issue with this defense because we’re not sure what we’re going to get from cornerback in particular, especially at CB2. But if this guy can ascend and lock down that CB1 role… that could change a lot for this defense.” - Eric

Kindle Vildor

“We’re talking about who’s going to be that second cornerback beside Jaylon Johnson. I think by the end of the year, it could be Kindle Vildor. They love him, and at least when I was watching OTAs he was making some flash plays. He was popping, he was a guy that was noticeable.” - Alex

Robert Quinn

“He has to play better. I know he was elite in some rankings when it comes to pressuring the QB, but we need to see QBs’ butts on the ground… To me the arrow points up, because in terms of sacks I don’t think he can have that bad of a season this year. But he’s my third concern. It’s not intriguing, it’s a concern.” - Kenneth

“Robert Quinn is No. 1 for me. Because he is the key to unlocking this defense to me. If he is anything close to what they thought they were getting… is approaching double-digit sacks like he used to on the reg, that takes a ton of pressure off the secondary… and it helps Khalil Mack tremendously.” - Eric

Trevis Gipson

“I’m going with the project pass rusher. Let’s see how far along he’s come in his development, because I don’t know how much to expect from Trevis Gipson… If we see some sort of progression, if we see some sort of development, growth, then maybe he is a guy that grows into that role. As Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn get older maybe they can kind of pass the torch.” - Alex

Cole Kmet

“This year I think we’re going to find a lot out about what the true arc of Cole Kmet’s career is going to be. How high can he go? Or is he going to be more of a stable player that doesn’t pop off the page, statistically… They’re going to need to know what they have in Kmet so I think he’s going to be heavily involved.” - Eric

“My No. 2 is Cole Kmet… I want to see them going to him on third down. I’m not really worried about the numbers, but on a 3rd-and-6 with Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney covered, I want to see Cole Kmet as that security blanket go get that first down… Is he a reliable guy when you need five yards, you go to Cole Kmet and you get five yards, no problem? That to me is a success, because you have a clear role in this offense.” - Alex

Teven Jenkins

“You’re asking a rookie to transition to another side of the line in the greatest league in the world… I think he may have it in him, but we have to see. There may be growing pains, so to me he’s my second-most intriguing, because I hope it goes well, and I feel like it goes well, but some of those bumps, and those peaks and valleys might be pretty deep at times.” - Kenneth

“Agree on Teven Jenkins. It’s not just this year, but for the next 10 years of Bears football, there’s a lot riding on this kid. He seems, from all that we’ve seen, that he’s up to the challenge, but playing left tackle in the NFL is no easy feat. There’s going to be a lot of eyes on him. A lot of spotlight on him, probably more than any other left tackle in Bears history perhaps… at least in recent vintage.” - Eric

“Teven Jenkins is my No. 1. They drafted him and they were like, ‘We think he can play left tackle,’ and we shall see. We shall see.” - Alex

Eddie Goldman

“I guess he didn’t opt out, but that still doesn’t mean that he’ll be there. Some people are thinking out loud, ‘Is he maybe going to retire?’ For some reason he’s been on my mind a lot, with his distance away from the team. Something doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not informed, I’m just pointing out how I felt, but Goldman’s importance to the run stopping— when you look, they were 15th last year. Before there were some years when it took nearly the whole year for a running back to hit 100 yards against the Bears defense.” - Kenneth

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