Bears starters will play for the second straight preseason game Saturday when the Bengals visit Soldier Field. Here are six players to watch in the contest:

Offense

All eyes will once again be on the highly-touted No. 1 overall pick in the draft, who impressed in his preseason debut last Saturday in Buffalo. Displaying accuracy and mobility, Williams threw for 95 yards with a 101.8 passer rating in leading the Bears to field goals on his only two drives in a 33-6 win over the Bills.

Coach Matt Eberflus said after Thursday's joint practice with the Bengals that he'd like to see more of the same from Williams in Saturday's game. But that won't be easy, because while the Bills defense is similar to the one the rookie quarterback sees in every Bears practice, Cincinnati runs a different type of scheme.

"He's going against a different structure here, so I think much of the same and improving and doing the basics of quarterbacking," Eberflus said when asked what he wants to see from Williams Saturday. "I think he did that at a solid rate. There were a couple things with the footwork under center and those types of things where he's got to improve. He's worked on those this week. But really much of the same and leveling up as we go through these weeks."

Three starting positions on the Bears offensive line are locked in with left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Teven Jenkins and right tackle Darnell Wright. Meanwhile, the competition at center and right guard continues.

Davis returned to practice this week after missing time with an injury and figures to have a chance to help solidify the right guard position against the Bengals. Ryan Bates had been playing there before getting injured and Matt Pryor performed well in that spot with the starting unit versus the Bills.

"I would just say this about Nate: he's been working to get back, and he's done that," Eberflus said. "It's unfortunate that he's had those injuries that he's had in his time here, but again he's worked every time to get back and when he was back, he did a nice job in there. So again, that's a competition. We're looking at that for who the best inside players are for us. That's not solidified yet at center or the one guard position. We feel really good about Tev at that one spot, so we'll see where that goes going through this week and moving into the next week."

After a strong debut at his new position in Buffalo, the receiver-turned-running back will get another opportunity to show what he can do in the backfield versus the Bengals. Jones displayed quickness and burst in rushing for 34 yards and one touchdown on six carries against the Bills, which led to him earning first-team reps in practice.

Eberflus said that the third-year pro has demonstrated the toughness required to play running back and "he's able to handle that position."

"He's able to get the reads down," Eberflus said. "He's slowly getting it. It's not easy to learn how to run the outside zone, the inside duo play, and all the plays that everybody runs in the league. That takes time. And then really about the protections, he's learning that. He's getting those too."

Defense

With some regular contributors in the secondary missing practice time with injuries, defensive coordinator Eric Washington was asked this week about reserves who have performed well in their place.

The first player Washington named was the third-year cornerback.

"Josh Blackwell has done a really nice job playing the nickel position," Washington said. "Really like how he's been working. He has really stepped up."

Although top nickel back Kyler Gordon has returned to practice, Blackwell figures to get plenty of opportunities to impress against the Bengals.

Blackwell may also audition as a punt returner, something he's done in practice.

"First thing I see with Blackwell is that he's fearless," said special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. "And he's a very smart, cerebral player. And he wants to do everything right. We're just trying to give him an opportunity along with other guys so we can see what we have just in case we need to go that route."

The fifth-round pick from Kansas made a splash against the Bills, recording 2.5 sacks and five tackles. Booker hopes to build on that performance and continue to show his natural pass rush ability versus Cincinnati.

"He's got an innate feel, and the good rushers are hard to hit, they're hard to stall," Washington said. "And they understand at max speed how to engage their hands, how to contort their body, how to counter at max speed without having to slow themselves down and allow the protection to kind of catch up with what they're doing, whether they're staying outside or trying to work inside.

"He has a great feel for that. And right now, what he's going through is taking what he brings to the table and combining that with all of the other details that he has to have from an assignment standpoint, situationally, so he can play good, clean football and we can get maximum benefit from what he can do."

Booker appeared in just 18 college games, six at Minnesota in 2022 and 12 at Kansas in 2023. But he says his natural ability comes from having played football since he was in kindergarten and working with his father, Duaine, who was a defensive lineman at Liberty University and Taylor University.

Like Booker, Hardy generated 2.5 sacks against the Bills and will look to make the most of his reps versus the Bengals. The Bears are hoping for a young edge rusher to step up opposite veteran Montez Sweat and Hardy is battling to earn a spot in the defensive line rotation.

Selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2022 draft out of Montana State, he appeared in six games as a rookie for Los Angeles, playing 41 snaps on defense and 128 on special teams.

Hardy then spent last season on the Bears practice squad.