Not every Chicago Bears player stunk in Thursday's 31-3 preseason-opening loss to Denver, and some of those who didn't were rewarded with more time with starters during Saturday's practice.
Second-round pick Alshon Jeffery and first-round pick Shea McClellin were two who benefited from the game by getting more first-team reps.
McClellin had a sack and tackle for loss in the game. Jeffery made four catches for 35 yards.
Jeffery on Saturday found himself targeted in the corner of the end zone during red-zone scrimmage and made a spectacular catch in the corner between three defenders just after wide receiver Brandon Marshall had made leaping TD catches on fade routes on successive plays.
"From OTAs, we were talking about how good his hands were," coach Lovie Smith said of Jeffery. "And I think that's just carried on, carried that to every situation we put him in.
"When you give a guy reps you want to see him perform and make plays, and he's been doing that."
It's usually easier to stop Jeffery than it is to coax a few words out of him about his performance.
“That’s for the fans. I don’t get into the hype and all," he said.
McClellin found himself with the first team in an interesting formation that could be a glimpse of things to come. Starting left defensive end Israel Idonije moved inside to the three-technique defensive tackle spot for several plays, while Julius Peppers went to left defensive end and McClellin played right defensive end.
Idonije has played the three-technique or under-tackle spot in this defense at times in the past, although he had to drop weight to do it effectively.
Once McClellin got over his initial struggles in drills and got to show what he could do in live fire, his talent was easy to spot.
His burst to the QB on Thursday's sack reminded some of Brian Urlacher's closing speed earlier in his career.
"If the quarterback’s there and you see him, you just want to hit him," McClellin said.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLCHI.
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