Bears' highest PFF grades on defense highlight 5 players making a late roster push

And some of the best grades belonged to players who desperately needed them.

With final roster cuts approaching, Skyler Thomas, Deantre Prince, Jordan van den Berg and Jamree Kromah were among the Bears defenders who strengthened their cases against Cincinnati.

For this ranking, we're using a minimum of 15 defensive snaps. That removes the distortion caused by players such as Jaylon Johnson, Gervon Dexter, and Montez Sweat earning strong grades over only a handful of snaps.

Here are the Bears' five highest-graded qualifying defenders:

• Skyler Thomas — 88.1

• Deantre Prince — 83.4

• Jordan van den Berg — 83.2

• Wayne Matthews III — 79.5

• Jamree Kromah — 76.9

Skyler Thomas leads Bears defense with 88.1 PFF grade

Thomas picked an ideal time to produce his best preseason performance. The young defensive back earned an 88.1 overall PFF grade across 31 defensive snaps, easily the best mark among Bears defenders who met our 15-snap threshold. His 84.1 coverage grade was particularly impressive.

Thomas also produced one of the few highlights for Chicago's defense when he intercepted Sean Clifford in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with two tackles and the interception.

Chicago's secondary has been hit hard by injuries, and Thomas is fighting to convince Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles that he deserves one of the final spots on the 53-man roster. An 88.1 PFF grade certainly helps.

Deantre Prince makes strong first impression

Deantre Prince hasn't been with the Bears for long, but PFF liked what it saw against Cincinnati.

The 25-year-old cornerback played 22 defensive snaps and earned an 83.4 overall grade, including an 81.2 coverage grade. He allowed no receptions on two targets.

Prince doesn't have much time to separate himself, making every preseason rep especially important. His first extended opportunity was encouraging.

Jordan van den Berg keeps making his case

Jordan van den Berg's hot summer continues to get more interesting.

The rookie defensive tackle earned an 83.2 overall grade across 33 snaps, placing him third among qualifying Bears defenders.

PFF gave van den Berg an 80.0 pass-rush grade; he also recorded two quarterback hurries in the grading data provided. In other words, he's exactly what the Bears need from the interior of the defensive line.

There was one glaring negative: his 29.8 tackling grade was easily his lowest mark of the night.

Still, the larger trend remains encouraging. Van den Berg has steadily worked his way into the Bears' defensive-line conversation throughout training camp,and there's a chance he's a full-time starter early in his rookie year.

For a sixth-round pick who entered camp fighting for a roster spot, van den Berg continues to play like one of this year's biggest NFL draft steals.

Wayne Matthews III dominates against the run

Rookie linebacker Wayne Matthews III didn't generate the same attention during the game, but his PFF grades demand another look. Matthews earned a 79.5 overall grade across 31 defensive snaps.

His 90.2 run-defense grade was the most impressive number, especially for a defense that's been routinely sliced in the run game in recent years.

Matthews is battling for a depth role in a linebacker room that already has several established options ahead of him. That means his path to the roster remains difficult and will likely require special-teams contributions.

But the undrafted rookie put up good tape against the Bengals and will force Chicago's coaching staff to take a closer look at his role.

Jamree Kromah continues his impressive preseason

Jamree Kromah isn't going away. After being one of Chicago's biggest defensive standouts against Cleveland, Kromah followed it with another strong PFF performance against Cincinnati.

He earned a 76.9 overall grade across 38 defensive snaps, giving him the largest workload of any player in the Bears' qualifying top five. Kromah also received a 75.8 pass-rush grade.

Kromah's strong preseason opener put him on the radar. Following it with another quality performance suggests his emergence deserves to be taken seriously.

The Bears have difficult decisions coming along the defensive line, but Kromah is doing everything he can to make sure he's part of the final 53.

Several Bears starters graded well in limited action

The 15-snap minimum leaves several notable Bears defenders outside our primary rankings.

Jaylon Johnson earned a 75.3 overall grade, but played only 14 snaps. D'Marco Jackson posted a 74.8, also on 14 snaps.

Gervon Dexter earned a 74.4 grade on 14 snaps, including an impressive 90.0 pass-rush grade. Montez Sweat finished at 71.5 over 10 snaps.

Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman also received a 70.1 overall grade across 14 snaps.

Those are encouraging numbers, but the samples are too small to compare directly with players who were on the field for 20, 30 or nearly 40 defensive snaps.