The NFL season is always evolving. We enter week 3 with unique perspective and ample concern for many teams as injuries and unexpected poor performance have impacted the league across the board.
In this weekly series, I’ll feature one player from the Chicago Bears opponent on each side of the ball who I think is integral to their team’s success. Like seasons past, you won’t see any quarterbacks, as the nature of the position always makes them critical for a team’s success. I’ll also try and mix in a few
under the radar players from time to time.
Let’s start with the Philadelphia Eagles offensive player that I will be focused on.
Offense: Makai Lemon, #9 – WR
If Saquon Barkely was unavailable for this game, this spot more than likely would have gone to backup running back, Tank Bigsby, whom I still expect to make his mark in this game – but Lemon gets the nod here for a few reasons. The first one being he was my favorite WR coming out of this draft. I say that knowing full well how disappointing the start of his career has been in just the first two games. But, the way he attacks the ball like he attacks would-be tacklers and moves down the field like a man possessed is quite reminiscent to a WR we are all too familiar with around these parts – Amon Ra St. Brown. With AJ Brown shipped off to New England and Devonta Smith nursing a hammy, Lemon should get his most robust snap share yet. Combine that with some questions in Chicago’s secondary with Tyrique Stevenson unlikely to play which could cause a ripple effect with their DBs, we might be seeing Cam Lewis or Nick McCloud lined up over Lemon in the slot with rookie stud Malik Muhammed II moving out to the boundary CB spot. If Philly is having trouble running the ball with their injured offensive line and hobbled running backs, look for QB Jalen Hurts to get rid of the ball quickly. And with starting TE Dallas Goedert also hurt, expect Lemon to get plenty of opportunities.
Defense: Andrew Mukuba, #24 – S
Another young player that I was extremely high on coming out of college, Mukuba was my favorite Safety in last years class that also featured Xavier Watts, Malaki Starks and Nick Emmanwori. The way he showed up in big games for Texas both as a tackler and pass-defender were most impressive to me. Mukuba is a safety not afraid to lay the wood in ball-carriers and plays much bigger than his 5’11”, 190lb fram might suggest. And his range on the back end is dangerous. With Quinyon Mitchell, Riq Woolen and Cooper DeJean locking up WRs in coverage, Case Keenum needs to be careful of a roaming Mukuba in the secondary. Hopefully Chicago can control the LOS and run the ball effectively, opening up passing lanes, but Mukuba is a young player in Vic Fangio’s defense that I would have loved to see in Chicago and am excited to see him compete against our pass catchers.
