Top 5 Bears to Watch in Preseason Game 3.

With preseason game number three being the dress rehearsal for the regular season here are my top five Bears to watch.

1) Jonathan Bullard: Bullard has been away from the team the past three days dealing with a family matter. He rejoined the team late last night. With the missed practice time it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he will have when he gets into the game. Bullard had a strong showing in his second preseason game. He showed good speed and used his physical toughness to shed blockers all night. Bullard was a third round pick in the 2016 NFL draft and many consider him to be a huge steal by GM Ryan Pace. If Bullard can recreate the success he had in the last preseason game it would be huge in showing Fox and Fangio that he deserves to start over Mitch Unrein. Having Bullard start over Unrein would help add more physicality up front on Fangio’s defense and add more speed.

2) Jay Cutler: Cutler will be going against a good Kansas City defense with a physical front seven. He has to keep building on his progress he made against the Patriots. Jay needs to throw accurate balls to his receivers and have the same pocket awareness he showed in the last preseason game. Knowing when to get out of the pocket and away from the pass rush will be huge for Cutler this coming season. When Jay knows when to move out of the pocket he allows for the plays to develop more and for his receivers to get open.

3) Leonard Floyd: The Bears first round pick has had an okay preseason so far. Floyd has shown his great speed and how he’ll be able to use it when the regular season starts. The factor that remains to be seen is his toughness and ability to shed blockers. Floyd struggled with this in his first preseason game, but had a better showing in the second game against the Patriots. He needs to be able to come out this game and put it all together. Floyd needs to flash his speed to get to Alex Smith, but also know when to shed blockers to get after the ball carrier. I think that he is on the right path, but a complete game from rookie Leonard Floyd is what I’ll be watching for on Saturday.

4) Kevin White: White has had a productive preseason so far. He’s shown his speed and play-making ability in the offense. The one thing I’m still waiting on is the deep ball. I want to see Kevin use his speed to get down field and burn a corner back for a deep strike from Cutler. It’s important in any offense to blow the top off a defense and Kevin White is just the man to do it. White needs to show his ability to gain YAC (Yards After Catch). He has the physical skills necessary to be able to obtain more yards after the catch so I’ll be looking for that in this game.

5) Jordan Howard: Howard had a nice game against the Patriots last week. He was able to get 11 carries for 46 yards and averaged four yards per carry. There’s no doubt that Langford will be the starting running back this season, but look for Howard to secure the backup spot with a strong outing on Saturday. Howard possesses all the tools to be successful in this league. He has great vision, good footwork, and isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder to run defenders over. With a good showing against a good Chiefs defense Howard would give Fox a reason to reconsider the current depth chart at running back.

The Bears play Saturday August 27th against the Kansas City Chiefs.