Chicago Bears: Matchups to watch against the Giants
By Usayd Koshul
2. CB Grant Haley vs. WR Riley Ridley
A steal in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Riley Ridley impressed when he got a chance to practice in Bourbonnais. Despite being ruled out of the Bears first preseason game, Ridley is one name to watch this Friday night when he finally gets a chance to make his Bears debut.
An undrafted free agent signed by the Giants in 2018, Grant Haley totaled 33 tackles in his first NFL season. Now that he’s got a year of experience under his belt, he’ll look to take a big step forward and become the third cornerback listed on the Giants depth chart behind Janoris Jenkins and DeAndre Baker.
What makes this battle so important is the fact that if both of these players develop correctly, then each of them will easily have a shot to become major contributors down the road for their respective teams.
Since this will be his first live-action NFL game, there’s no knowing what to really expect from Ridley. However, there are three things that will help him with this matchup against Haley: A positive attitude, competitive nature, and route running.
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Haley, on the other hand, will be focused on figuring out a way to slow down Ridley who wins through excellent route running. To effectively prove that he belongs on the Haley will need to shut Ridley in open space because that is where Ridley is most dangerous.