NFL Projects Two Surprise Chicago Bears Starters This Season

GM Ryan Poles said it will be much harder for players to make the Chicago Bears roster this year. He wasn’t lying. For the first time in at least seven years, the team has proven talent across the board. Every position has at least one above-average player, and several of them have solid depth. This will make those final two or three spots at the bottom of each depth chart that much more precious. Most projections fall along the same lines when considering the starting lineup.

Caleb Williams is the quarterback. D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen are the top receivers. Cole Kmet is the tight end. D’Andre Swift is the running back. Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Kevin Byard make up the secondary. There isn’t much of a debate out there. However, it appears there could be some controversy on the horizon. At least NFL.com analyst Gregg Rosenthal thinks so. He ran his starting lineup projections for this coming season, featuring two notable shockers.

That would be a notable shift for the Chicago Bears.

Let’s start with center. Coleman Shelton was the starter last season for the Los Angeles Rams during their playoff run. Under normal circumstances, he would be the choice for the Bears. There’s one issue. Poles traded a 5th round pick to Buffalo for Ryan Bates. All indications to this point suggest he is the early favorite for that center spot. This prediction suggests he won’t acclimate to it well enough, allowing Shelton to secure the job. Yet somehow, defensive tackle is the bigger surprise.

Andrew Billings was outstanding at nose tackle last season. He was a key reason the Chicago Bears’ run defense was among the NFL’s best. This would suggest Zacch Pickens either beats him out for the job or the coaches plan on shifting Gervon Dexter to nose tackle, slotting Pickens into the three-technique role. This feels unlikely after how Billings played last season. So either the second-year defensive tackle has to perform lights out in training camp, or Billings has to get hurt.