Here are 4 young Chicago Bears players to watch during final 5 games

Matt Eberflus is gone. The record is not good. The Chicago Bears will not be playing playoff football come January.

Bears fans are already turning their attention to 2025. The team fired Eberflus on Friday after another debacle on Thanksgiving Day. Between now and then, the Bears have five games remaining.

At this point, the wins and losses probably don’t matter. But Bears fans will be watching to see how some of their team’s young stars play down the stretch. Here are four young Bears players to watch over the final five weeks of the 2024 season.

1. Caleb Williams

Let’s knock the obvious one out of the way.

All eyes remain on quarterback Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall draft pick is going to be a fixture of this team moving forward, no matter what happens at the head coach position.

Williams can already say he has had the best season of any Bears rookie quarterback ever. He has fallen behind Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Denver’s Bo Nix in the rookie of the year debate, but Williams is definitely not out of it yet. If he keeps putting together 340-yard games, like he did against Minnesota, Williams will be back in the conversation in no time.

A strong finish for Williams will give the Bears a lot to be excited about when it comes to their young quarterback. New offensive coordinator Thomas Brown seems like he has been good for Williams since he took over play calling mid-season.

For any quarterback in Chicago, December and January are a measuring stick. If Williams is going to turn this organization into a winner, he will have to learn to win when the weather turns. This stretch will be his first test.

2. Gervon Dexter

Anybody still complaining that the Bears passed on defensive tackle Jalen Carter in the 2023 draft hasn’t been paying attention. General manager Ryan Poles traded down one spot in the 2023 draft, giving the ninth overall pick to the Eagles, who used it to draft Carter. The Bears instead drafted offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th pick. Carter had some serious off-the-field concerns coming out of Georgia.

But here’s something nobody is talking about: 2023 second-round pick Gervon Dexter is playing just as well as Carter this season.

In his first season as the starting “3-technique” in Eberflus’ defense, Dexter has four sacks in the first 11 games and his 25 QB pressures are only a hair behind teammates Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker (who each have 30) for the team lead.

Dexter has more sacks than Carter (four compared to three and a half), a higher QB pressure rate (9.2% of pass rushes vs. 8.9%) and a higher sack percentage (1.5% of pass rushes vs. 1.0%).

A strong finish from Dexter would be huge for this Bears defensive line.

3. Rome Odunze

Bears veteran receiver Keenan Allen probably isn’t coming back next year. Allen’s contract is set to expire after this season. At this point, the Bears might be better off giving No. 9 overall draft pick Rome Odunze more opportunities.

Odunze has played well during his rookie season, but still, he has taken a back seat to Allen and DJ Moore. Moore is going to remain a focal point of this passing attack. That’s why the Bears signed him to a $110 million contract extension that ties him to the team through 2029.

But there is certainly space for Odunze to carve out a bigger role. Since Brown took over as offensive coordinator, Moore has seen his depth of target go down. The Bears are using Moore on short, quick routes, screen passes and even carries out of the backfield.

There’s an opportunity for Odunze, who might be the team’s best deep threat, to make some noise over the top. It would really help the Bears offense if he can stretch defenses over these last five games.

4. Terell Smith

Ever since the Hail Mary against Washington, Bears second-year cornerback Terell Smith has seen his playing time go up. It was noticeably apparent last week against Minnesota, when Smith played 65% of defensive snaps, compared to Tyrique Stevenson’s 35%.

The Bears selected both cornerbacks in the 2023 draft. They took Stevenson with a second-round pick and Smith with a fifth-round pick. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the Bears might prefer the lower pick in Smith.

Terell, I just love his man coverage ability and I love his savvy, his understanding of route concepts, being able to feel pad and pressure and ultimately executing the coverage.”

—  Eric Washington, Bears defensive coordinator

How the situation at cornerback plays out down the stretch will be one of the subplots to watch for this defense. Stevenson is a harder hitter, but he’s also prone to making mistakes once in a while. Smith is steady in man-to-man coverage.

“Terell, I just love his man coverage ability and I love his savvy, his understanding of route concepts, being able to feel pad and pressure and ultimately executing the coverage,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said of Smith.