One thing about the NFL is it’s not made up entirely of 1st round draft picks. Many of its good players are often drafted later or not drafted at all. One of the most vital parts of success in this league is being able to identify potential contributors in undrafted free agency. This is something the Chicago Bears seemed to ignore way too often in decades past. However, that seemed to change under the guidance of GM Ryan Pace.
He has put much greater emphasis on scouring the undrafted ranks for talent. His results up to this point have been well above average. Bryce Callahan in 2015. Roy Robertson-Harris in 2016. Rashaad Coward in 2017. Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars in 2019. All went on to make significant contributions to this team. One game into the 2021 preseason, and the undrafted class didn’t waste time showing out for Chicago in a big way. Several names emerged with impressive performances.
- Caleb Johnson: 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 pass defense
- Daniel Archibong: 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack
- Charles Snowden: 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss
- Sam Kamara: Key pressure to force a turnover on downs
- Brian Johnson: 44-yard field goal
Not a bad day of work.
Johnson might’ve been the biggest surprise of that group. The Bears signed him out of Houston Baptist, the first football player ever to reach the NFL from that program. Then after a rather quiet training camp, he makes a series of standout plays. His only blemish was getting beaten on a wheel route for a touchdown by Dolphins running back Salvon Ahmed.
Archibong, Snowden, and Kamara were part of a second half pass rush that held Miami to zero points. All looked sharp. As for Brian Johnson? Fans had heard his name mentioned a few times during camp but didn’t think much of it. Not with Cairo Santos firmly in control of the starting job. Then Johnson hit that field goal right down the screws. Perhaps they may have found their perfect insurance policy.
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Chicago Bears undrafted rookies aren’t backing down
There are several roster battles going on with this team. Competitions are wide open. So these young men knew they’d have to make some things happen in the game in order to get noticed. That mission was accomplished. Johnson faces a steep climb at inside linebacker with Alec Ogletree, Christian Jones, Joel Iyiegnuniwe, and Josh Woods all considered ahead of him. Now he might finally have some momentum. His next step is finding a way to do it on special teams too.
Perhaps the Chicago Bears’ most prized acquisition was Snowden. Most experts considered him talented enough to go in the 3rd or 4th rounds of the draft. He has loads of untapped potential at outside linebacker. He’s trying to chase down either Trevis Gipson or Jeremiah Attaochu for one of the primary backup spots. This certainly helps his case.
As for Kamara and Archibong?
Their fates are likely for the practice squad. Not because they aren’t good enough but more because the Bears are so rich on the defensive line. Those two will be stashed away and hopefully will continue to develop moving forward. It will be interesting to see if any other undrafted free agents take their opportunities to make a statement in the next two weeks.
