Brian PS always seems to take one undrafted rookie free agent each season to be on Chicago's 53-man roster and this guy just has a natural gift of finding talent that goes unnoticed by everyone else and he can also thank Ian Cunningham for being a great running mate in this Duo for the Chicago Bears front office and building this team in a very special way that they'll be good for a long time the Chicago Bears have a lot of undrafted rookie free agents on the roster right now and they all seem to be making an impact in their own ways we've had Jack sour and Tyson be over the last couple of years make the roster and I think that there is going to be another one that makes the 53 man roster this preseason has been a lot of fun watching these guys run around with the twos in threes and there is a guy who in my opinion is going to make the roster and it's going to cause some pretty shocking roster moves after in order to keep him but it's all worth it and I can't wait to continue to watch this team progress hello everyone and welcome back to this episode of just another year Chicago Bears my name is Dick Roy and as always thank you for tuning in today I'm going to be breaking down undrafted rookie free agent Ian wheeler who is a running back who is turning a lot of heads at camp in both the Chicago Bears fan nation in both preseason games and en camps so far and before I begin Today's Show I am giving away another custom Chicago Bears Jersey to one lucky viewer to enter make sure to hit the like button on this video subscribe to the Channel if you haven't already thank you for 17,000 by the way we just hit it on Monday so super excited about that and comment where you're watching from we got people from all over the world and I love to see where Chicago Bears Nation stands so let's go into Ian wheeler and who he is well he's an undrafted rookie free agent from Howard a private university in Washington DC the 511 205 PB running back packs a punch when on the field and gives you everything you need in a complete back whether it's blocking receiving rushing and he is even a special teams Guru wheeler is from Houston Texas where you live in breed football in that state so he loves the game and it's his entire life and you can see the his passionate the way he plays and with everything he does when he throws on pads he is not only a solid football player but a solid guy off the field as well he's very good in the classroom finishing at Howard on the Deans List with a 3.57 GPA and was named to the meac all academic team three years in a row he attended Howard in their medical program as well so clearly one smart cookie for a rookie and he is a leader amongst his teammates and is known for being a very humble leader as well that is approachable and helps bring teammates up and why is someone you want on the Chicago Bears team the Bears are building a fantastic culture right now honestly the healthiest I've seen it since the early 2010s and he brings a lot to the table for sure on and off the field but he helped lead Howard to winning backto back Mid Eastern Athletic Conference championships and this guy is one special person to have on your team and his stats speak for it so a lot of Bears coaches have come out this year saying you have to be versatile to make the 2024 2025 Bears Chicago Bears roster and I have to agree because we are stacked from top to bottom and Wheeler is one of those guys that is making a lot of guys little nervous when they're at practice because he's putting on a show every single time and that all started back at Howard during his time there he had over 2500 total yards from rushing receiving and special teams returns will wheeler his senior season this past year returned three kickoff returns for touchdowns which I could see why Ryan poles brought him in considering the fact that the new kickoff rule is very F friendly to returners and he obviously has a very good Knack at returning the ball in his total career at Howard from a rushing perspective he rushed 177 times for over 1,154 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns mainly being a Red Zone running back for them from a receiving perspective he had 234 receiving yards averaging over 7.5 yards per catch and his kick return stats very impressive 1,322 kick return yards along with three kick returns for touchdowns all happening this year and over 7 100 of his return yards coming his senior year as well he was again the all academic team three years running and he was three times All Conference in the meac as well clearly this guy was talented and recognized across the league from his peers and other coaches and in his first NFL action he did not slow down five carries against the Buffalo Bills for 4.3 uh 43 yards not 4.3 yards an average 8.6 yards per carry and two rushing touchdowns in back-to-back offense possessions which is very impressive overall especially against a solid Buffalo Bills defense he made it look at ease he broke it to the outside he broke tackles and he showed his agility across the board now before I get more into wheeler I would like to thank today's sponsor authentico tequila a Chicago based startup that was created to make the newest organic tequila on the market is hot right now and you guys have to go out and try some listen I love this stuff Keith Van Horn loves this stuff as well because there's no additives it's organic super smooth and very light to no hangovers depending on how much you have but let's be honest everyone gets a little hung over even if you have a couple drinks these days go to the link in the bottom in the description below and in the top comment to find authentic o nearu and I want to hear what you guys think of it so I've gone through his stats I've gone through his background but why do I think he'll make the roster well minus his ability as a leader which you'll have to work hard for but he's gaining the respect of he's a very versatile player kind of like what I was saying earlier he can rust the ball well using his big frame to run over defenders he is also a bulldozzer breaks tackles with ease never puts his head down constantly looking to see if he can get more yards and his strong footwork to Juke out offenders and his overall strengths helps him get extra yards even when he's getting wrapped up not only that he can block which and very well too because right now ran Johnson is the big blocking running back on our team along with fullback career blasting gang but you could always use a running back that can do it tooo and Wheeler is a close second with foran Johnson and like I said earlier on this team you have to be versatile wheeler can not only run and catch but he can return it on kickoff returns and make tackles as well his special teams ability is great making him very special as a solid tackler and even better returner you you have to be able to do it all at the best level in orderwise use this roster because roster spots are very limited at 53 and he exactly does that bringing a lot to the table the Bears also have a super interesting running back room situation right now you obviously have DeAndre Swift who you paid $8 million a year so he's locked in good to go then you have ran Johnson who's on a rookie contract for three more years you have bis Jones Jr that's trying out the running back room and seeing pretty good success right there even though he'll probably be in the wide receiver most of the time but then you have khil Herbert and Travis homer which Homer's a special teamer as well but that's really what's holding him on this roster right now and khil Herbert who's in the last year of his rookie contract making only a little over a million dollars a year and being one of the League's better versatile running backs his trade value is super high right now and if you can trade him get some draft picks maybe even a defensive Edge or a lineman things could go in the right direction for wheeler and Wheeler can sneak his way onto this roster especially since he can do it all and there's other guys on this roster too that are going to be able to make it and they are on the bubble right now but they're doing fantastic starting off with our guy Josh Blackwells having a huge preseason so far running with the twos threes and the ones in certain situations he's also a special teams group making a lot of plays there I have a lot of confidence that he's going to make this roster and I'm very excited for him as well then you have REI Stewart another undrafted rookie fre agent from Troy has been playing very solid at both camp and in games he's had five tackles against the bills he had three interceptions against Caleb Williams in practice and he's been one of his biggest headaches too and his past deflections are through the roof I think he's at like 14 right now in Camp so he's looking really good and he's even run with the ones as well final guy Colin Johnson the guy who the monster Hall of Fame game with two receiving touchdowns he was injured against the bills but if he makes good opportunity of his last two games against the Bengals and the Chiefs I think Colin Johnson will sneak onto this roster making another interesting situation with the wide receiver room but that's something to go over in another day overall I'm excited about this team they have a lot of talent they have a lot of Versatility here and I like what Ian wheeler is bringing to the table and I want to hear what you guys have to think about Ian wheeler as well because he is going to be a special player if he makes his team but with that thank you as always for tuning this episode of just another year Chicago Bears my name is Dick Roy and as always Bear Down Baby