Chicago Bears training camp: Tanner Gentry making strong impression

Tanner Gentry has established himself quickly as someone to watch at Chicago Bears training camp. Will he beat the odds and make the final roster?

After just one day of Chicago Bears training camp, it’s impossible to really know how the rest of camp and preseason will shake out. For one, many practices, as well as exhibition games, lie ahead for players to either prove themselves or underwhelm. However, it was still nice to hear about a few players from my watch list—Tarik Cohen and Mitch Trubisky—show out on Day 1 of practice.

Interestingly, though, it was a highly intriguing undrafted free agent—Tanner Gentry—that stole the show yesterday. And though we won’t know his fate for a few weeks yet, Gentry is already telling the Bears that he won’t be easy to discard.

Gentry makes presence known early

Besides the fact that this highlight dominated the day, it also demonstrated what Gentry could potentially bring the Bears.

A big-bodied receiver with a huge catch radius, he beat tight coverage multiple times in his first training camp practice. In a receiver group that currently possesses a lot of speedy, slot-type receivers, Gentry’s go-up-and-get-it ability (he jumps off the screen with a 38-inch vertical leap) makes him unique. No one’s suggesting that he’s Alshon Jeffery, but Gentry’s game offers some shades of his skill set.

Also, while he’s not blazing fast, he clearly can get down the field and make plays regardless.

So far, Gentry has impressed the Bears at every turn. The next step will be proving himself on the field against other competition when preseason games begin. If you remember, that’s more or less where Daniel Braverman—who also had a solid practice—got tripped up last year. Plus, a good training camp and preseason doesn’t mean he’d dominate in the regular season. Just ask Charles Leno about that.

Next: Predicting the Chicago Bears' final 53-man roster

But if he keeps performing like this, Gentry will make it hard to cut him. Also, though there are limited receiver spots available, he’s a guy that might not make it to the Bears’ practice squad if he gets released. As such, the Bears will be watching closely to see if he can keep making plays and perform on special teams.

Training camp is still young, but Gentry has already put people on notice at Chicago Bears training camp. Truthfully, he’s been doing that ever since he joined them.