Chicago Bears 53-Man Roster Projection 3.0: Who makes the cut?

Offensive Line

Starters: Charles Leno, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, Kyle Long, Bobby Massie

The big debate here is whether or not to move Daniels to center and slide Whitehair back to guard. Nagy has made it pretty clear he is not intending to do so. Instead, Daniels should end up winning the left guard spot before too long. As for Leno, Long and Massie, those three are locked and loaded at their spots.

Backups: Eric Kush, Earl Watford, Rashaad Coward

Kush is the starting left guard right now, but like I said, I don’t see that lasting long. He provides value as someone who can play both guard and center, so he’d be able to come in if any interior lineman goes down. Watford will back up both guards, while Coward’s transition from defensive line has looked nearly seamless.

Defensive Line

Starters: Roy Robertson-Harris, Eddie Goldman, Akiem Hicks

Do we really need to talk about Hicks? No, not really. He’s in line for what should be a second-straight Pro Bowl season, had the voters gotten it right last year. Goldman is locked in at the starting nose tackle. As for the opposite end, Roy Robertson-Harris has certainly come on in the preseason and looks like he’s taking over that starting spot with a firm grasp.

Backups: Jonathan Bullard, John Jenkins, Bilal Nichols

Bullard will lose the battle with Robertson-Harris, but will still hold a spot as a backup. Jenkins, meanwhile, has played very well in the preseason and doesn’t get talked about much. If Goldman ever went down, he’d fill in and do a fine job. Nichols is somebody who is learning both spots up front and, as a rookie, should see some snaps.