Bears Mandatory Minicamp: 3 underrated roster battles that are flying under the radar and could have a major impact in 2025
Today the Chicago Bears kick off the first of three days of mandatory minicamp with the full 91-man roster expected to be in attendance in some capacity.Now, some players could obviously not be on the field this week due to injury rehabs such as Braxton Jones and Colston Loveland, but for the most part we […]
Today the Chicago Bears kick off the first of three days of mandatory minicamp with the full 91-man roster expected to be in attendance in some capacity.
Now, some players could obviously not be on the field this week due to injury rehabs such as Braxton Jones and Colston Loveland, but for the most part we should see everyone out there on the field.
During the first two weeks of organized team activities, head coach Ben Johnson stressed there was no depth chart and no one was battling for positions yet. For some positions (such as left tackle), that's true. But, surely there's some battles still being observed in practice.
Here are three underrated battles happening on the roster that could have a major impact on the team's 2025 season depending on how these spots are decided.
Outside CB2: Tyrique Stevenson vs. Terell Smith vs. Zah Frazier
Over the last two seasons, we've learned how critical this position is for the entire Bears' defense. The outside CB2 spot opposite Jaylon Johnson gets a lot of attention from opposing quarterbacks, because no one wants to throw toward the back-to-back Pro Bowler on the other side.
As a rookie, Tyrique Stevenson was thrown head-first into that fire and ended his rookie season with four interceptions. His fellow 2023 draft selection, Terell Smith, has looked solid mixing in there as well allowing just one touchdown with 10 pass breakups over the last two seasons combined.
Now, we can add rookie Zah Frazier to the mix. Another lanky ballhawk who will look to take advantage of the increased looks coming his way. Under the new scheme, the player who looks the best pressing at the line of scrimmage and playing in man coverage will come out on top as the starter.
Slot WR: Luther Burden III vs. Olamide Zaccheaus
This one is interesting to me, and the one that we might not get to see much of during minicamp depending on the health of Luther Burden III. During OTAs, the second-round rookie was dealing with a soft tissue injury and not on the field.
Olamide Zaccheaus, the free agent signing, has been getting the most work out of the slot with Burden sidelined but the two players offer a similar skill set to the table.
Burden is much more explosive with the ball in his hands and making people miss after the catch. Zaccheaus offers some strong YAC ability as well, while being a seasoned pro. Either way, whoever lines up in that spot is going to see a lot of targets.
"That's a very important point of emphasis for us is to get that spot right," Ben Johnson said about the slot WR. "It doesn't matter if we make [the slot] primary or not, the ball tends to find its way there. So, we got to make sure we have a guy that's running very distinct routes at that position."
RB2: Roschon Johnson vs. Kyle Monangai
One that's not as underrated but it's starting to fall between the cracks a little bit. Right now, this is more so a battle between Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai to prove a veteran back like Nick Chubb isn't a necessary addition before competing against each other for the second running back spot.
Albert Breer noted a few days ago that the Bears plan to give Johnson every opportunity to be the RB2 behind D'Andre Swift and the team wants to see Johnson play with more physicality.
In the meantime, the coaches are getting after Monangai to toughen the rookie up a bit. As a pass protector, Monangai will excel and earn some solid snaps. If he can prove he's a physical runner who can pick up the hard yards as well, he can easily overtake Johnson for the role.
Bears looking to push the versatility of underrated defender this summer to help create more competition at an open roster position
This could help him push for a roster spot.
