Many Chicago Bears fans' hopes finally came true when the NFL announced the Bears will be featured on HBO’s original series “Hard Knocks.”
For those unfamiliar, Hard Knocks goes behind the scenes of an NFL team during training camp. It gives viewers a look inside the team’s facilities, players, coaches, and even their families.
Every year on Hard Knocks, there are a few personalities that end up stealing the show or that fans have extra focus on. Let’s look at some of the names to pay attention to when you tune in this fall.
Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams is among the most anticipated names, even for casual football fans. As the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, all eyes will be on him as he enters training camp. How will he adapt to the speed of NFL practices? How quickly will he build a rapport with his teammates? What kind of leader will he be in the huddle? The “generational” quarterback prospect already carries the weight of being the franchise's savior. On Hard Knocks, he'll have a chance to showcase his skills and prove that he is ready for the spotlight.
TJ Edwards
As we enter his second season with the Bears, TJ Edwards has established himself as one of the leaders on a defense that will maintain continuity heading into training camp. He was among the few veterans chosen to be part of the dinner crew welcoming Caleb Williams to Chicago. I anticipate he'll be very vocal during the show, as he will likely be one of the players calling out coverages, shifts, and audibles. Being a local kid, he will find ways to get in front of the camera as he represents his city both on and off the field.
Velus Jones
You almost forgot he was on the team, didn't you? One of the common storylines of Hard Knocks is shadowing a player facing an uphill battle to make the roster. Since he was drafted two years ago, Jones has seen the Bears select wide receivers in consecutive drafts, thus sliding him further down the depth chart. The one thing Jones has working for him this offseason is the new kickoff rules favor teams with a dynamic ball carrier. It will be interesting to see how Jones fits in with these new rules and how many reps he will get with the wide receiver group.
HONORABLE MENTION
Matt Eberflus
While most of the national media seem to have turned darling towards Ryan Poles, they are still skeptical of head coach Matt Eberflus. Most expected him to be fired during the offseason and for an offensive-minded head coach to be brought in and paired with Williams. However, Ryan Poles has remained steadfast that ‘Flus’ has his total confidence. One of the reasons is that Poles noted how Flus “steadied the wheel” when the seas were rough. To this point, we haven’t seen too much of how Eberflus coaches and what his style is.
Poles correctly said that despite some terrible losses, the team never mailed it in and always played hard for their coach. It will be interesting to see Eberflus at practice, what message he instills in his players, and how he gets them to play with his HITS principle.