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The Bears’ 2016 rookie class joined a host of tryout players this past weekend at Halas Hall for rookie minicamp. While the three-day camp allows coaches to get their hands on their new toys for the first time, the workouts aren’t particularly helpful in judging how the Bears’ new players will adjust to the NFL. Many of the tryout players weren’t even starters in college so early-round draft picks like Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair and Jonathan Bullard were by far the best players on the field. That won’t exactly be the case when OTA practices begin next week.

That said, the rookie minicamp did provide reporters with an opportunity to talk to the Bears’ coordinators and assistants for the first time, providing valuable insight as to how the rookies might be deployed this season.

So, after having those discussions this weekend — and evaluating the college tape — here’s a look some realistic expectations for the Bears’ nine draft picks this season:

OLB Leonard Floyd, Georgia

The Bears’ first-round pick (who they traded up for) won’t necessarily be a full-time player as a rookie. Floyd enters a crowded position group that includes the defensive leader — Pernell McPhee — and two other veterans — Lamarr Houston and Willie Young — who the Bears expect to be healthier and better in Year 2 of Vic Fangio’s system.

These modest expectations for Floyd shouldn’t be discouraging for Bears fans. While top 10 picks are ideally Week 1 starters, the Bears’ situation is unique and Floyd is probably going to be a little raw early on in the season, especially if he is playing at 230-235 pounds, as Fangio suggested over the weekend. (For the record, I don’t have an issue with Floyd playing at that weight, I’m just a little confused why Fangio said 230-235, when general manager Ryan Pace said he wants Floyd playing in the 240s. Floyd said after he was drafted that he was at 240 and told WGN Radio he wants to add 10 pounds. He was 244 pounds at the NFL Combine.)

Whatever the weight, I expect him to be an effective situational pass rusher as a rookie. Too many people are focused on Floyd’s (lack of) numbers at Georgia. They need to realize that he often wasn’t asked to rush the passer, a request that came out of necessity for the Bulldogs and not because of Floyd’s ability. If you watch the tape, you’ll see that he is more than capable of rushing the passer. His edge rushing tape is his best tape and what got him drafted No. 9 overall.

As for fair rookie expectations, Fangio summed it up best on Saturday:

“I’m sure there’s going to be a play or two every game where you’re going to say, ‘Jeez, he’s not heavy enough’ or ‘He’s too light.’ Hopefully there’ll be a few plays every game, too, that we say, ‘Well, jeez, we didn’t have anybody who could have done that in the past.’ He is what he is.”

OG Cody Whitehair, Kansas State

At this point I think the Bears would be disappointed if Whitehair isn’t the starting left guard Week 1 in Houston. Those expectations were created the minute the Bears cut veteran Matt Slauson. Even if Slauson didn’t exactly fit athletically within the scheme, the depth isn’t good enough to justify that move unless the Bears believe Whitehair is capable of playing left guard at a high level right away. For what it’s worth, I believe he is.

DL Jonathan Bullard, Florida

I wasn’t in love with this pick when it was made, but I did think Bullard provided solid value in the third round. The more tape I watch, however, the more I think Bullard will be a key contributor early on. Seeing him in person this weekend, he was bigger than I thought. He doesn’t look like a rookie. Realistically, Bullard will be in an intense competition with guys like Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton and Mitch Unrein for the starting defensive end spot opposite Akiem Hicks. All of Fangio’s defensive linemen play, however, and Bullard should be one of the guys in the rotation.

ILB Nick Kwiatkoski, West Virginia

Barring a huge surprise or injury, Danny Trevathan and Jerell Freeman will be the Bears’ starting inside linebackers when the season starts. The hope with Kwiatkoski is that he can eventually develop into a starter, but right now the Bears want him to be an impact special teams player and solid backup.

S Deon Bush, Miami

With Antrel Rolle out of the picture, the door is open for Bush to become the second rookie safety to start the opener for the Bears in two years. Adrian Amos will theoretically keep his starting job, but I wouldn’t call him a lock. The Bears want to see Amos make more plays on the ball. That will be a prerequisite for all of the competitors, including Bush, Harold Jones-Quartey, Omar Bolden and sixth-round pick DeAndre Houston-Carson. I’m not sure it’s fair to expect Bush to win a starting job, but given the lack of depth at the position, it won’t be surprising if he does.

S Deiondre’ Hall, Northern Iowa

The longterm expectation for Hall is that he can develop into a reliable No. 1 or No. 2 corner, but he’s still raw and admitted over the weekend that he’s still learning the cornerback position.

“For me, it’s just taking coaching points each and every week because I’m pretty much new to the position,” Hall said. “Getting little things here and there to keep me in front of receivers to stay in prime position is huge for me.”

Hall played a lot of safety in college so not only is he making a big jump from FCS football to the NFL, but he’s also being asked to refine his cornerback techniques quickly. There’s no question Hall has the size and length to be a good press corner at the NFL level, but positioning and jamming at the line of scrimmage will be key. There’s going to be some growing pains, but it was encouraging to see the progress he made over three short days of practice at the Senior Bowl back in January.

“(It clicked) probably later on in Day 2. That’s when I started feeling myself,” Hall said. “That’s kind of when you heard me talking a little bit more.”

I think it’s asking a lot to expect Hall to start right away, but I expect him to make steady progress during the season and see the field somewhat regularly by the second half of the season. Remember, corner isn’t a particularly deep position for the Bears.

RB Jordan Howard, Indiana

John Fox reiterated over the weekend that he typically likes to settle on two primary running backs in his rotation and Howard has a shot to be one of those guys. It’s going to be a pretty wide open competition between Howard, Jeremy Langford, Ka’Deem Carey and Jacquizz Rodgers. Howard might not be one of the two primary backs right away, but I expect him to see a decent amount of carries by the end of the season.

S DeAndre Houston-Carson, William & Mary

The Bears have made it pretty clear: Houston-Carson was drafted to boost special teams right away.

“He’s a guy who can run,” special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said Sunday. “He’s got some decent size and length to him. He’s an active guy. He always seems to find the football. (Nine) blocked kicks. But there’s a couple of return touchdowns he has both defensively and off of blocked kicks. He was a scoop-and-score guy. Guys that have a knock for ball skills in college, that usually translates. We’ll see. But his college tape is pretty good.”

It’s probably too much to ask Houston-Carson to be an immediate “playmaker” on defense, but that’s exactly what should be expected of him on special teams.

WR Daniel Braverman, Western Michigan

It’s going to be really hard to evaluate Braverman until he puts the pads on in training camp, but he is a very good route runner. Can he beat out Marc Mariani? Can he beat out Eddie Royal? It’s hard to say right now, but he has youth on his side. Ideally, Braverman will emerge as a solid No. 4 wide receiver. Realistically, the expectation should be to make the 53-man roster out of camp.

Braverman actually left Western Michigan with a year of eligibility remaining and told me over the weekend that he thought there was a chance he would be drafted in the fourth round. He started getting nervous in the fifth round, he said. Going in the seventh round may have been a little bit of a wakeup call, but it surely will motivate the wide receiver.

As for the draft class as a whole, it’s realistic to think they will all make the 53-man roster. With nine draft picks, it’s not uncommon to see multiple draft picks cut out of training camp and/or put on the practice squad. But the Bears aren’t a particularly deep team and I think they did a good job of adding guys who at least project as good special teamers.

Last year, all six draft picks made the team out of camp. If the Bears can do that two years in a row, well, that would be considerable progress.

Adam Hoge covers the Chicago Bears for WGN Radio and WGNRadio.com. He also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.