Undrafted Bears Stole Rookie Thunder
It's a given for Year 2 of a rebuild for undrafted free agents to experience difficulty making a roster.
If this is the case with the Bears this year, a few from their undrafted group seem capable of making a serious run for it anyway.
At least according to Pro Football Focus grades for the preseason opener, three undrafted players led all rookies.
Of course, the undrafted players were all playing later in the game and they faced undrafted types from the Titans. This made a difference. PFF had cornerback Tyrique Stevenson graded highest among players who got into the game with the starters and this should surprise no one after his team-high seven sacks and a pass breakup. He had a 66.5 grade, which would be solid for a rookie cornerback on any given Sunday.
The three undrafted players who came out graded higher than Bears draft picks but saw most or all of their time in the second half were quarterback Tyson Bagent, edge rusher Jalen Harris and linebacker Michah Baskerville.
QB Tyson Bagent
Before rushing to judgment and claiming the Bears have a backup QB controversy, remember Bagent is playing against players in the fourth quarter who almost certainly will be cut while struggling backup P.J. Walker was playing against top subs. Many of those subs have actually been draft picks and starters at some point, or figure to be starters. Walker had a poor day and was only 4 of 8 for 19 yards with a passer rating of 16.7. Bagent's stats are deceiving because he threw for 37 yards on 4 of 5 but all except 12 of his passing yards came on one play—a 25-yard pass to Daurice Fountain. Otherwise, he was 3-of-4 for 12 yards and those numbers would impress no one. Throughout camp Bagent has had enough athleticism to move out of the pocket and enough arm to get it where he needs it to be. The final preseason game should be interesting from his standpoint because almost certainly he will get a big chunk of the snaps with starters unlikely to see much or any action. He hasn't necessarily impressed as a deeper passer at camp.
Edge Jalen Harris
The son of former Bears linebacker Sean Harris was the only Bears player besides Terrell Lewis with more than one sack (1 1/2). Harris' sacks weren't simply isolated cases. He had three QB hits and also a forced fumble to go with two tackles. PFF graded him at 85.5, highest among Bears defensive players in the game. The former Arizona player was right in line with the theme to the game from the Bears defensive side, which was a better pass rush than people could have expected from their edge.
MLB Micah Baskerville
The undersized (6-1, 228) middle linebacker from LSU graded out at 70.4 for PFF and finished with five tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit. He tied Trevis Gipson and Zacch Pickens for second-most defensive snaps played with 44, behind only Tyrique Stevenson's 46. There's more to it than statistics and total snaps. Coach Matt Eberflus pointed this out.
"So the operation when he's in there, has to be clean and that's being evaluated," Eberflus said. "You've gotta make sure that he's making the calls, setting up the defense, and doing the things the right way.
"It's about alignment and assignments, making sure we're doing the things right there, but he put a good step forward there last game."
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