Chicago Bears: Predicting the fates of 2018 rookie class
Locks to become starters
Roquan Smith
The Chicago Bears spent their first-round pick (No. 8 overall) on Roquan Smith. They hope he is the next in the great line of linebackers to make an impact in NFL history. He spent about a month holding out because of a disagreement on the new helmet rule. He lost valuable training camp time and is now playing catchup.
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He will make his first start against the Kansas City Chiefs in Preseason Week 3. I don’t think anyone involved feels Smith will suffer too much. His status for the start of the regular season is still up in the air, but he’ll start fairly quickly and make everyone forget the holdout. He’ll be a great player.
James Daniels
The top priority this offseason for the Bears this offseason was to help in the development of season-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Part of that was giving him weapons (more on that later) and part of it was getting him protection. James Daniels will be another starter for the Bears. Where he starts is the real question.
The coaches have him at left guard instead of his natural center position. They want Cody Whitehair under center, but if he continues to struggle with snaps Daniels needs to take over. In any case, Daniels will be a starter on the line for years to come.
Anthony Miller
Anthony Miller has been a great find. He’s been killing the Bears’ secondary in practices, creating space and making spectacular catches. He’s done some of that in preseason games as well.
Miller played college ball with a chip on his shoulder. He felt he was the best wide receiver in the draft and is working on making sure the rest of the league knows it. It’s fun to see a wide receiver with Miller’s confidence and work ethic to back up that confidence. He’ll be a fan favorite and I think he’ll make the All-Rookie team.