If the 2015 season was a rebuilding year for the Chicago Bears, one could consider the 2016 a season that starts a new era. With veteran players like running back Matt Forte and safety Antrel Rolle moving on from the Windy City, it will be up to this year’s class of rookies to help fill the void.
The first step in that process kicked off with the 2016 Bears’ draft class took to Halas Hall for the start of rookie mini-camp. Chicago Bears’ Defensive Coordinator, Vic Fangio, wasted no time putting the rookies through the ringer to prepare them for what’s in store.
“When you have a young group, it’s been kind of my philosophy to throw everything at ‘em and see how they react,” Fangio said. “Maybe then curtail back it if you need to. Because it’s hard during the season to put some new concepts in if they haven’t had the foundation in your offseason work and training camp. So we’ll treat ‘em like we treat anybody and then if we need to adjust, we’ll adjust.”
Two rookies battling for Fangio are safeties DeAndre Houston Carson out of William and Mary and Deon Bush out of Northern Iowa. Both rookies are looking to step into the strong safety position previously held by veteran Antrel Rolle during the 2015 season. During the drill sessions Fangio had Carson and Bush alternating between the strong and free safety positions to better acclimate them to the defense.
On the offensive side of the ball, rookie running back Jordan Howard out of Indiana is looking to fill the shoes of former Bears’ veteran running back, Matt Forte. Running-backs coach Stan Drayton is excited about what Howard can bring to the Bears’ backfield.
“We’re very excited about the skill set that he does bring to the table,” Drayton said. “He is a power runner, which makes him different than everybody else in that (running backs) room.”
While Howard wasn’t allowed to show his physicality during rookie mini-camp, it will not doubt be on display for training camp beginning on July 22nd as he battles for the starting job with frontrunner JeremyLangford and Ka’Deem Carey.
