Chicago Bears vs. Denver Broncos Preseason Week 1: 5 players to watch

5. Tanner Gentry, WR

After losing Alshon Jeffery in free agency, the Chicago Bears were expected to take a receiver at some point in the 2017 NFL Draft. They added interesting veterans like Kendall Wright, Markus Wheaton and Victor Cruz, but they did not draft a rookie receiver.

If healthy, Cameron Meredith and Kevin White enter the season as the Beas’ starting receivers. Not exactly the most impressive duo on the outside, but both Meredith and White have plenty of upside. Aside from those two, the position is pretty much wide open.

Despite not drafting a receiver, the Bears did make an extremely interesting undrafted free agent addition at the position when they signed Wyoming wide receiver Tanner Gentry after the draft.

Gentry is listed at 6-foot-2, 209 pounds. He does not have great overall speed and quickness, but Gentry is a big and athletic target who seems to always come down with the ball. During his senior season at Wyoming, Gentry caught 72 passes for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is a legitimate jump ball threat who is particularly impressive in the red zone.

Gentry simply has a knack for coming down with the ball and has been particularly impressive during training camp thus far. He has also started to develop a strong rapport with rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

Make no mistake about it, Gentry is a talented wide receiver who can push for a spot on the Chicago Bears 53-man roster. He is undoubtedly one of the most interesting players to watch during the entire preseason slate of games. Expect him to get a big workload on Thursday night as the Bears try to see if his game can translate to the NFL level.