Mooney is Ready, a Receiver Prospect’s Rising Stock, Patrick’s Return, and Other Bears Bullets

Sep 06, 2022

I’m not going to bore you with the details, but how does my fantasy team look?

I drafted a fantasy team tonight. Had the second overall pick (took Derrick Henry after Jonathan Taylor went first overall). ESPN standard scoring, no PPR.

How did "Smooth Jimmy's Really Big Lock" do? pic.twitter.com/ElGgzbhMqT— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) September 6, 2022

I don’t love the team. But I think it has potential. Let’s ride.

It was refreshing to hear some good news from the injury report (for a change). Receiver Byron Pringle, offensive lineman Lucas Patrick, and rookie wideout Velus Jones Jr. returned to practice on Monday. There was even video:

Here’s video of new Bears wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (wearing 17) and Byron Pringle (quad) at practice. pic.twitter.com/vVj9pIVNPl
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 5, 2022

Lucas Patrick (62) going through individuals for the first time since late July. pic.twitter.com/QH22navzta
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 5, 2022

As Alex Shapiro (NBCS Chicago) points out, the Bears could try their hand with Patrick at center or right guard. While as a member of the Packers, Patrick was a useful starter at both positions. That versatility was one of the reasons I thought he was a solid free agency signing. Having options is a good thing for a Bears team looking for its best five linemen no matter the position. That line of thinking helped land Teven Jenkins (drafted to be a left tackle) in a spot to be the starting right guard. It also positioned Larry Borom (who played both tackle spots and guard last year) to start the year as the team’s top right tackle. At this point, the Bears should be open to anything that can make for a productive line.

One thing they shouldn’t do is start an injured Patrick at center. And there is probably an argument not to start him at all if he isn’t fully healthy. But I don’t want to jump down that rabbit hole on a Tuesday. But if Patrick is undoubtedly your best center, and his injured snapping hand is preventing him from being 100 percent there, he should play guard (if he is going to play at all). But can you start Patrick at guard if your coaches grade out Jenkins as a better guard option than Patrick? I’d venture to say no. Why does it feel like we have more questions now than we did when training camp began?

Rookie left tackle Braxton Jones is out here making good points:

#Bears starting LT Braxton Jones asked about #49ers Nick Bosa: do you think he’s licking his chops, going up against a 5th round rookie?

“I mean, I can’t speak for Nick Bosa, but,”it’s still the NFL, you gotta play the game, you can’t just attack that.”— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) September 5, 2022

A lot will be made about the Bears starting a fifth-round rookie at left tackle. I get it. On paper, this is a serious roll-of-the-dice. And putting up a rookie Day 3 pick against one of the Bosa boys sure seems like a tall talk. But we don’t play games on paper. Nope. Instead, they are played on grass … or field turf … or whatever they were calling that stuff on the surface at Soldier Field during the preseason. Jones nails it. You can’t just go about your business attacking an opponent thinking you can beat them based solely on their draft status. Underestimating a competitor before you step into the arena is an easy way to lose when you both take the field.

Speaking of the field, the re-sodding of Soldier Field proves once again that peer pressure can be a powerful tool when applied vigorously:

Laboring on Labor Day, it’s what we do. Happy to be providing #GameOnGrass at Chicago’s Soldier Field. First time bermuda installed in this historic venue. #Tahoma @CarolinaGreenCo @pccarlson59 @GreenSource_USA pic.twitter.com/vBOa5Jm48T— Chad Price (@CgcChad) September 6, 2022

While we’re thinking about homes of the Chicago Bears, I think this development gives things the potential to get JUICY on Thursday when the Bears present their plans for Arlington Park:

NEW: A petition for an ordinance rejecting any taxpayer financing of the new Bears stadium will be presented to the Arlington Heights Village Board on Tuesday. https://t.co/SWXDf5JNfA— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) September 6, 2022

I want to dive in on both of these items later. But I also wanted to put them on our radars during today’s Bullets.

When he isn’t obsessively tracking prospect dingers, Brett makes some good football points:

The bottom two QBs in The Ringer's rankings when you sort by "pre-snap" value. Seems notable given that in their time with the Bears, they were prohibited from actually DOING anything pre-snap … https://t.co/vjOqbSmAnv pic.twitter.com/wy3hbQGfNM— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) September 6, 2022

And in doing so, reminds me of how prohibitive Matt Nagy’s offense was to run for young, developing quarterbacks.

College football’s Week 1 came to a close with a Clemson-Georgia Tech game that was mostly off my radar because my focus was on a fantasy football draft. However, with a full slate of games ahead of us on the schedule moving forward, there isn’t a bad time to start taking notes on prospects who could pique the Bears’ interest in the 2023 NFL Draft. Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine offers up prospects whose stock is up after the first set of games. One player Ballentine believes the Bears should have eyes on is Boston College receiver Zay Flowers, who is flying under radars for now (but probably not for long after putting 10 catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Rutgers).

In July 2022, a scout from a NFC team said of Flowers (via ESPN’s Matt Miller): “He’s the best deep threat in CFB. He’s undersized and there were some drops lat year, but with the QB (Phil Jurkovec) returning, he’ll have a ton more targets.” Miller forecasts Flowers as a potential top-50 pick. I think I can see why:

First TD of the year for BC & the first of many for Zay Flowers!@BCFootball | #ACCFootball

📺: @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/S3jrsSgexo
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) September 3, 2022

Zay Flowers strikes again!@BCFootball | #ACCFootball

📺: @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/8V3Ku9NJEA
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) September 3, 2022

As for active Bears receivers, I think Darnell Mooney is ready to roll:

#Bears WR Darnell Mooney has had it:

“I’m tired of the 3 to 4 plays we ran in preseason. I’m ready to open this thing up, and get everybody off our back.”— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) September 5, 2022

I’m looking forward to seeing the new guy score touchdowns for the Bears (instead of a against them):

Just spoke with Ihmir Smith-Marsette and here is what he wants #Bears fans to know about him.

"It's going to be an exciting season. Just look forward to making a lot of big plays this year and it's going to be an exciting season."— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) September 5, 2022

A return to normalcy:

#Bears coach Matt Eberflus said he has not named captains. Said a grand announcement is coming Wednesday. There will be 4 captains for the season and 1 honorary captain each week.— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 5, 2022

Matt Nagy choosing weekly captains wasn’t keeping the Bears from winning games. Few (if any) were vocal about this quirk when the Bears were winning 12 games in 2018. But I do appreciate setting season-long captains at the outset. A team like the Bears should know who its leaders are and who to turn to when push comes to shove.

The Packers were also on the receiving end of good news on Monday, with star left tackle David Bakhtiari telling reporters (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky) things are lining up for him to start the season-opener against the Vikings. Bakhtiari suffered a serious knee injury on Dec. 31, 2020 — just days before the Bears-Packers Week 17 game. The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro was limited to just 27 snaps in his lone game last year. Green Bay’s offense was good enough, even with Bakhtiari out of action. Getting him back in the fold for Week 1 makes the Packers that much better. Unless an unexpected injury pops up before then, it looks like the Bears will be seeing Bakhtiari in Week 2.

The Cowboys are getting a real one in Jason Peters:

From @NFLTotalAccess: Wrapping up the #Cowboys signing of OT Jason Peters, providing depth and teaching to a young rookie. pic.twitter.com/zYxIs6dYQt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2022

Although, that’s going to be really awkward for Eagles fans who supported him for so many years. Get your popcorn ready for both of those Cowboys-Eagles matchups (so long as Peters is healthy, available, and starting).

Ooh, a cookie!

It Looks Like Cubs Pitching Prospect Hayden Wesneski Will Be Coming Up Tomorrow!https://t.co/SpoP2W1QLC pic.twitter.com/UOYqLwLGaR
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 6, 2022

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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