Bears Training Camp Preview: Which position battle intrigues you most?

We’re just a few weeks away from getting some actual Chicago Bears news, so we’re running through a series of roundtable questions for our team at WCG to spark some discussion.

Today’s topic is...

Which Bears training camp position battle intrigues you the most?

And here’s what we had to say.

Jeff Berckes - I’m actually not sure there are that many position battles open, but I’m at least slightly intrigued with UDFA kicker Andre Szmyt trying to unseat Cairo Santos. I like Santos and despite the random blip on PATs last year, he’s been very good for the Bears. However, Szmyt is a local product of Vernon Hills and won the Lou Groza Award for the best kicker in the country in... 2018? That can’t be right. Yep, 2018. So...was he a one-year wonder, or is he an incredibly talented kicker waiting for professional coaching to unleash the next Justin Tucker? Let’s find out.

Ken Mitchell - Strangely enough, running back. Chicago has three good ones; the question is how the playing time will be worked out.

Erik Duerrwaechter - For me, it’s all about both defensive tackle spots. Gervon Dexter Sr. has surprised many people — except me — with his flashes of dominance as he transitions to a scheme where the philosophy is gap penetration, not gap destruction. Aka the “read and mirror” concepts previously seen at Florida that are never designed to highlight a DT’s potential - they’re just used as sides of beef meant to clog lanes and free up the edges with any blitz, stunt, or game. He’s seen a lot of reps at both 3-tech and shade, where Justin Jones and Andrew Billings are the veterans at each respective spot. Evidently, more of Gervon’s time was at 3-tech, with several mentions of him lining up with the 1’s alongside Andrew Billings. Once the pads are on full-time, Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens will get their chances to earn bigger plates at the buffet for playing time.

Taylor Doll - There will be some really good ones this year, more so for depth, but I am interested in that interior defensive line. Obviously, we know that d-line has the most question marks along with edge, but the additions of Billings, Dexter and Pickens and what we have seen from Justin Jones, and I am super interested to see what that will look like at the end of camp. Let’s stop the run!

Mason West - There aren’t a lot of battles to be had across the board. Center seemed to be fairly squashed by Eberflus, so I will go with the battle for the WR6 spot. The top 5 are fairly locked in (Moore, Mooney, Claypool, ESB, Scott), which leaves Velus Jones and Dante Pettis to fight it out. Special team usage will be the deciding factor here.

Bill Zimmerman - The bottom of the wide receiver group. I’m quite curious how things between Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis and Velus Jones shake out when there’s only room for two of them on the roster.

Sam Householder - I think outside corner between Tyrique Stevenson and Kindle Vildor will be interesting. Vildor played better last year but still has the stink on him from his earlier seasons in the minds of fans. It’s going to be an important position battle and one that might be over before it starts.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. - One of the few starting spots that isn’t locked up is at strongside linebacker, and I’m curious to see if rookie Noah Sewell can challenge Jack Sanborn. Veteran Dylan Cole may get in the mix too, but with a young team, it makes sense to go with Sewell or Sanborn as the starting Sam. Sanborn should be fully recovered for camp from the ankle injury that landed him on IR last season, but missing the offseason program was a good opportunity for Sewell and Cole.

Now it’s your turn; which training camp position battle intrigues you the most?