Bears Training Camp Takeaways: Tyler Scott continues to show he can be a true play-maker for the new offense
It's no secret the Chicago Bears offense is filled with multiple play-makers who are capable of attacking opposing defense in a multitude of ways.“It’s scary. It’s scary. I’m sure you guys have seen it,” tight end Gerald Everett said on Thursday. “We gave the defense something to look at, something they probably weren’t ready for, […]
It's no secret the Chicago Bears offense is filled with multiple play-makers who are capable of attacking opposing defense in a multitude of ways.
“It’s scary. It’s scary. I’m sure you guys have seen it,” tight end Gerald Everett said on Thursday. “We gave the defense something to look at, something they probably weren’t ready for, but like I said, being interchangeable, even with DJ (Moore) and Keenan (Allen) and the guys in the receiving room. We’re going to want to play all of the spots. Whether it be right direction or left direction, we’re all going to be flying up and down the field.”
All of the talk from the outside has focused on the Bears starting trio of wide receivers in Moore, Allen, and rookie first-round pick Rome Odunze. However, it's been second-year wide receiver Tyler Scott who's turned the most heads in training camp.
"Since I've been around Tyler, he has put his head down and worked hard," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron explained. "You can see his twitchiness, his speed that he can use to get into the defense, he has done a great job as far as his knowledge of the playbook and the system, transitioning from one offense to the next this year. I think he just keeps going out and competing every single day. He's right in the mix and making some nice plays in practice and ready to go and he'll have his shot."
Scott once again had the play of the day during Friday's session, the first one with pads and with fans in attendance. On the play, Scott beat safety Jaquan Brisker in a foot race down the sideline to haul in a lofted pass from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who was working to evade heavy pressure from the defensive line. Here's a look at the play from practice.
Scott has looked like a completely different player since training camp kicked off last weekend and has routinely gotten targets from the team's new franchise quarterback. He's taken full advantage of all the opportunities presented to him with Moore, Allen, and Odunze all missing reps for various reasons throughout the week.
Going into his second season in the league, Scott is staying focused on what he role is within the offense and aiming to do it to the best of his abilities. If he can continue stacking the big plays into the season, he'll be just another weapon to utilize.
Caleb Williams gets in on a little scuffle
Things always get chippy for every team in the league during training camp, especially when the pads come on, as they did today in Chicago.
Some of the Bears players got into a little scuffle today on the practice field that was caused after defensive end DeMarcus Walker got through block by tight end Gerald Everett block and reportedly tackled running back Khalil Herbert, per Zack Pearson.
The two players who broke up the fight: defensive leader Montez Sweat and Caleb Williams. That's right, the rookie quarterback got a little chippy too helping out his fellow offensive players.
"That’s my quarterback," offensive lineman Ryan Bates said after Friday's practice. "I love that. I love that mentality. He’s got to be smarter though because we can’t have that, God forbid anything happens. But I love when he stepped in there and got in the middle of it. That’s who he is. He’s a chippy guy. He wants to get in there, he wants to compete. Yeah, I love him so far."
Gerald Everett is looking like a real Swiss Army Knife
The Bears have a lot of offensive pieces who can align in different formations and play different roles interchangeably. Running back D'Andre Swift, for example, has already been seen splitting out as a wide receiver and catching passes out of the backfield throughout the offseason.
The unit's biggest secret, however, might end up being tight end Gerald Everett. Everett has always been a versatile guy in his career and teaming back up with his former offensive coordinator, he's is willing to do whatever the team needs.
“Just being interchangeable with receivers and the tight ends, and even the running back,” he explained. “I mean, I don’t think there are many tight ends that are doing jet sweeps or catching screens, so hopefully to implement that as well as I did any other year that I have been in the league.”
Everett, paired with fellow tight end Cole Kmet, will give Williams two big-bodied targets to look for all over the field as potential mismatches. Also in the room is 18-year veteran Marcedes Lewis, whom Everett has started learning from since returning for the start of training camp.
“I met him my rookie year when he was playing in Jacksonville after I scored my first touchdown,” Everett said. “Just chopping it up with him, I kind of got some wisdom from him then, but to be playing with him now, we’re going to have a fun year, and just off-the-field stuff up to this point is what we have talked about.”
Rome Odunze's making separation for the punt returner job
The punt returner job in Chicago will likely decide whether or not the Bears keep a sixth wide receiver on the 53-man roster and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower was very explicit with what he's looking for out of the players competing for the role.
"Everyone's back there working right now," Hightower said on Friday. "So, nothing's set in stone of who's going to be the punt returner… Fearless is the number one trait being a punt returner. So, you gotta be fearless and you've gotta have confidence. Then, when you get on the field, the number one thing is ball security."
Hightower mentioned the following names as the players in contention to be the main punt returner: Rome Odunze, DeAndre Carter, Dante Pettis, Velus Jones Jr., Greg Stroman Jr., Tyrique Stevenson, and DJ Moore. Freddie Swain was also seen returning punts on Friday.
Odunze so far has been the front runner for the job based on what's been reported out of camp. According to Nicholas Moreano, Odunze lined up twice at punt returner during 11-on-11 drills and got both reps during team period on Thursday. Here's Odunze in action catching a punt during individual drills on Friday.
The rookie hasn't just been making an impact as a returner during camp. Odunze's also been continuing to get the better of the first-team defense and has been drawing even more high reviews from the players lining up against him.
"He’s sneaky fast," cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who was also seen returning some punts, said on Thursday. "Like off the line, you might night realize he’s closing the cushion as fast, but once he on you, he on you. Just the fact that he’s able to run the wheel routes, he’s able to break down and run the digs, or if you let him, he’ll run right by you. Just the fact that he can pretty much do every route on the route tree."
The Bears coaching staff will keep getting creative with using Odunze throughout the rest of camp as they continue unlocking his true potential for the entire team.
Chicago Bears Training Camp: First block of practice offers telling signs about the depth chart in key positions
Things are starting to become more clear.
