Chicago Bears: Players to watch against Carolina Panthers

3. WR Riley Ridley

A fourth-round pick in 2019, Riley Ridley is out to prove that despite having to be part of a deep wide receiver room, he can be a guy that can be an option for the Bears on offense. So far, Ridley has impressed in camp, however, the reason he hasn’t gotten much attention is because everyone is so focused on names like Javon Wims, Allen Robinson, and Anthony Miller.

Ridley is an impressive route runner that wins with a combination of moves. He’s also an extremely detailed player who wants to get every single aspect of each play down. One of the things to understand about Ridley is the fact that he missed some practices due to an injured hamstring.

Between the Bears first two preseason games, starters are not projected to play much, which means that it will be a prime opportunity for Ridley to showcase his skills. While he is one player that looks as if he’s locked up a roster spot for the Bears, he’s still worth monitoring for a number of reasons.

First, Ridley is projected to be listed as the fifth wide receiver on the Bears depth chart. The names that are ahead of him are currently Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Taylor Gabriel, and Javon Wims. There are also other players in Bourbonnais like Marvin Hall that are making a serious case to be part of the Bears roster.

The bottomline is this: Thursday night is a prime opportunity for Ridley to begin solidifying his spot on the Bears roster. It will take more than just a strong showing for him to lock a spot up, however, his first preseason game is at least a start.