Who's Trending Up, Trending Down at Bears' Training Camp

The Chicago Bears have completed about a week and a half of training camp so far, and we've already had no shortage of notable storylines. Head coach Ben Johnson is hoping that one position battle will be settled by next week, a far cry from last year's battle at the same position. A rash of injuries has us questioning whether Ben Johnson's tough practices need limitations. Most importantly, All-Pro offensive tackle Darnell Wright signed a record-setting contract extension with the Bears on Tuesday.

That's the big picture overview of camp so far, but when we start looking at individual players, we see that some are performing well above pre-camp expectations while others have been disappointing. Which players are trending up or down with just one week before the Bears' first preseason game? Let's take a look. For brevity's sake, I won't include obvious selections, such as stars from last season still playing well, or players who were always practice squad candidates struggling.

1. Kaden Davis - Trending Up

The second-year receiver out of NW Missouri State University has been having a great camp. He made three impressive catches on Thursday, a day after he had one of the best catches of the summer: a stunning, one-handed grab in the corner of the endzone on a pass from Caleb Williams. The bottom of the Bears' wide receiver room is up for grabs, and Davis just might secure a spot for himself.

2. Kyler Gordon - Trending Down

Kyler Gordon started training camp on the PUP list (physically unable to perform), and still has no timeline to return, according to a Thursday update from head coach Ben Johnson. After missing most of the 2025 season with an injury and now missing most of camp, it's starting to look like Gordon has already played his last game as a Bear.

3. Garrett Bradbury - Trending Up

The Bears were expected to have a position battle for the starting center job, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Garrett Bradbury has taken all the reps with the starters while rookie Logan Jones has been with the backups. It would appear that Ben Johnson wants an experienced veteran anchoring his offensive line, at least for now while the rookie continues to learn the playbook.

4. Dillon Thieneman - Trending Down

It hasn't been a great camp so far for the Bears' first-round rookie, but that was to be expected. Thieneman is going up against the likes of Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, guys who made even experienced NFL defenders look foolish last year. Bears fans shouldn't panic, though. Consider this to be Thieneman's baptism by fire.

5. Jordan van den Berg - Trending Up

The Bears have a potential late-round draft gem in Jordan van den Berg on their hands. On Thursday, he finally got to work with the starters, a day after he went mini-viral for blasting an offensive lineman into the ground during a drill and firing up the defense. He's got a long way to go, but it's already easy to see why the Bears' hype for him was through the roof after the draft.

6. Coby Bryant - Trending Down

I hate to include Bryant here, but he was carted off the practice field with a leg injury on Monday, and what we heard from various insiders is that he will be out for eight to 10 weeks. However, Ben Johnson's injury update on Thursday offered a shred of hope for Bryant. According to Johnson, that eight-to-10-week timeline didn't come from anyone at Halas Hall and they're still gathering information on his injury. Hopefully, this means that Bryant could be back even sooner than expected.

But even in a best-case scenario where Bryant does indeed return sooner than eight weeks, he'll still have missed almost all of training camp. As a result, his integration into the defense will be incomplete and he may struggle early in the season.

Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant runs with the ball during Training Camp. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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