The preseason ended last night with the Bears blowing a late lead at home, which unfortunately felt a lot closer to the John Fox era than this new regime under Matt Nagy. Luckily, the game didn’t count and was played by all back-ups, so there’s no reason to panic.

There were a lot of bright spots for the Bears over the course of the game. I only pick three players, so I won’t have room for everyone.

For a couple honorable mentions; Tyler Bray actually looked like a No. 2 QB last night. I get that the competition he played against was not the greatest, but he played very well. i

I also didn’t watch James Daniels super close, but when I did, I never saw him getting pushed around at left guard.

With that out of the way, let’s get to it.

Stock up

Ryan Nall, RB - For the second consecutive week Nall makes the cut. He demonstrated his versatility, lining up at running back and fullback, as well as catching a pass out of the backfield. Nall is a definite practice squad candidate, and he could easily make the roster if the Bears are comfortable with him as a fullback over Michael Burton.

Doran Grant, CB - Grant has just been a guy to me. I’ve seen him in games, but I didn’t give him much thought. Maybe I was paying too much attention to the players ahead of him, and I didn’t really feel like he was mentioned a ton this preseason. Well, he balled out last night. He had the interception return for a touchdown and batted down two other balls.

Cavon Walker, DT - Walker might have earned himself a practice squad spot with his performance last night. He had a sack, tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit.

Stock down

Cody Parkey, K - It’s tough to overreact to a kicker during the preseason, but the Bears are getting used to seeing iffy kicking and Parkey was supposed to be a steadying force for those woes. Missing from 50-plus is one thing, but from 39? Yikes. It should be noted that back up long snapper Tanner Carew was in on the miss, if that’s worth anything.

Tanner Gentry, WR - Maybe it’s unfair to put him here, as this isn’t so much about what he hasn’t done, as much as it’s about how much better his competition is. Gentry has some special teams value. With Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Kevin White and Taylor Gabriel all ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s hard to carve out a spot for the plucky receiver, though.

Demarcus Ayers, WR - When Ayers got bumped to the active roster, it seemed like he could have a shot at winning one of the return man jobs. I have seen zip from him this preseason so far that leads me to believe he deserves a spot. That intercepted Bray pass going through his hands was the final nail in the coffin for me.