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USA Today Sports Media Group
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6 Bears who stood out on Day 8 of training camp

The Chicago Bears kicked off their second week of training camp with a non-padded practice on Friday, and the team is slated to play its first preseason game in just under a week.

While the addition of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue was the big news out of Halas Hall today, there were several of his new teammates who made a strong impression during Friday’s slower, non-padded practice.

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Let’s take a look at the six players who stood out during the eighth practice of training camp.

1
WR Chase Claypool

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns. Wide receiver Chase Claypool has been the second-biggest star of camp, working in tandem with the actual star of camp quarterback Justin Fields. Claypool’s consistency through the last week proves that he’s ready to put the second half of the 2022 season behind him and become a major contributor on offense. Claypool has been a scoring machine in camp, tallying a few more in today’s practice.

A funny situation occurred near the end of today’s practice, where a ball intended for Claypool bounced high into the air and tight end Robert Tonyan ended up coming down with it. The following play, however, Tonyan was the one to have a pass bounce off his hands and Claypool was the one to make the catch.

The football gods work in mysterious ways.

2
QB Justin Fields

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Justin Fields rebounded from a shaky practice on Wednesday with a much more solid outing today. QB1 threw an early interception to cornerback Josh Blackwell in a two-minute drill, but Fields composed himself for a second crack at it, driving passes downfield to DJ Moore, Robert Tonyan and Chase Claypool to set up a “game-winning” field goal.

The intensity was set to a simmer instead of boil on day eight, but Fields continued to demonstrate his growth as a passer.

3
DT Gervon Dexter

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The signing of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is no doubt a huge upgrade to a mostly barren defensive front, but the Bears will still need the other guys on the defensive line to come into their own as productive players. Rookie defensive tackle Gervon Dexter is well on his way to doing that, as he again stood out to the fans in the stands.

The defensive tackle’s speed and tenacity is getting noticed and praised more often by the fans and media, which most likely means he’s beginning to separate himself from the rest of the defensive line group. Dexter can definitely see a lot of playing time as a rookie due to the state of the position; he just needs to continue to perform at a high level in camp.

4
WR Tyler Scott

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

From a standout rookie on defense to one on offense, Tyler Scott continued to be the diamond in the rough for the wide receiver group. Scott’s potent skillset was on display on the eighth day of camp, leaving various Bears defensive backs left scrambling to cover the pass-catcher.

It also comes as a pleasant surprise that Scott has developed a solid rapport with Justin Fields as QB1 continues to rely on him in the team’s two-minute drill.

Scott’s play may propel the receiver into a decent role on the offense come the regular season.

5
RB D'Onta Foreman

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

The running back Ferris wheel continues to turn, as the trio of Khalil Herbert, Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson all are vying to receive the majority of carries in the regular season. Though it’s hard to discern a running back’s performance with no pads on, it’s evident that Foreman won the day. It was actually his ability to catch rather than run that made him stand out today, something he isn’t particularly known for.

Foreman had a breakout season with the Panthers last year, stepping in for Christian McCaffrey after he was traded to the 49ers. Foreman is more than qualified to potentially take the lion’s (Bear?) share of the workload if the coaches decide on that.

6
S Jaquan Brisker

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Jaquan Brisker has been making his presence known during training camp, even during slower, non-padded practices, like on Friday. Brisker made back-to-back plays during the 11-on-11 period, which included blowing up a play for what would’ve been a sack on Justin Fields. One play later, Brisker blew up a run play. He just always seems to be around the ball.

Brisker’s running mate, Eddie Jackson, had nothing but praise for Brisker, who he noted is miles ahead where he was at this point last summer.

“Oh man, he has made a huge leap,” Jackson said. “He is having a great camp so far.”

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