After scoping out Bears training camp, national NBC football columnist Peter King joined Jason Goff on NBC Sports Chicago's Football Night in Chicago weeknight show to talk about the Bears.
And he slipped out a bold prediction.
"I think Chicago, if everything goes right, could be a wild card team," King told Goff. "My feeling is it's probably a year too early for that. I think they need to grow a little bit more as a team."
King pointed out the Bears are "fortunate" because they aren't in the AFC.
That conference is loaded. The Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, etc. You name a team. They have a positive outlook heading into the season.
King expressed his belief that the NFC North doesn't have a rock-solid No. 2 in the division. For the most part, he believes the division is up for grabs.
From a micro perspective, King shared his takeaways about certain individuals on the team.
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MORE: NBC's Peter King reveals thoughts on Justin Fields, Yannick Ngakoue
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"You talk to Luke Getsy, his offensive coordinator. You talk to his receivers. Ryan Poles, the GM, and you really find that’s the one thing they’ve noticed. It’s not a lot of adjustment from last year to this year, even though there’s a franchise receiver here in DJ Moore," he said. "I think you’re going to see a much more comfortable quarterback in Justin Fields."
The Bears Think They’ve Hit a Home Run with Yannick Ngakoue
"When the general manager of this team, Ryan Poles, was in Hawaii on vacation, a guy came up to him and said 'Man, you need a pass rusher.' He said 'I’m on vacation with my family, and I know,'" King recalled. “So what he did was he went out and had a choice between Justin Houston and Yannick Ngakoue. They signed Ngakoue….The Bears believe is that he’s going to be that missing piece, that 10, 11, 12 sack guy, that they’ve been looking for to add to their defensive front."
Tyrique Stevenson is Ready to Turn Heads
"He’s showing a lot of signs of being from 'The U.' As we watch practice here in Lake Forest, it was amazing how feisty he was. He had to be separated from a couple of different receivers," he said. "I think one of the things you’re going to see is teams probably will go after him early on, and I don’t think he’s going to be intimidated. When you come from Miami, you’re a good fast corner and you work every day against DJ Moore, I think the Bears are confident that he’s going to be able to hit the ground running."
