Everybody likes to form a picture in their heads every offseason of how a roster will look. Excitement is so high that they often favor new things over established things. It’s just human nature. That would explain why guys like Riley Ridley, Cordarrelle Patterson, Emanuel Hall, and Marvin Hall have gotten lots of attention as like choice for the bottom half of the Chicago Bears wide receiver depth chart.
It’s not a surprise. Ridley was the teams’ 4th round pick this year, so he’s a likely lock. Same for Patterson who will be their primary kick returner. Together with Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller that is five slots set in stone. Presuming the Bears go the usual route, that leaves one spot left open and a bevy of players battling for it.
One name who people seem to have stopped talking about is Javon Wims. The 7th round pick from Georgia had a tremendous showing in the preseason last year but only appeared in four games during the regular season. He caught four passes for 32 yards. With the recent influx of new bodies to the position, people seem to have forgotten he existed.
Not the Bears though.
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Javon Wims believes Chicago Bears have big plans for him
One thing to remember about Wims was he can be a physically imposing player with his 6’3 size and underrated speed. He proved that in August last year. The problem was he looked like a rookie when it came to his route running. That is why the Bears didn’t play him much during the year. Head coach Matt Nagy didn’t trust him enough to understand the complex requirements of the system.
With a full year and another offseason under his belt, it appears things have changed. According to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, Wims is quietly putting in consistent work with the Bears starting offense. A surefire sign they may have plans for him in 2019.
Wims played almost exclusively with quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the starting offense during the offseason program.
“That’s big, not only for the coaches to see that I’m capable of doing that, (but) for myself, that’s big getting in that timing with the 1’s and everything,” said Wims, a seventh-round selection last year.
“(It’s) carrying on that tempo. … I’m just earning that trust. (Trubisky) being able to throw me the ball is huge.”
One of the key issues the Bears passing game had last season was the inability of their receivers to play more physical with defensive backs. It was true both in their inability to win 50-50 balls and also in the running game. This may have had a lot to do with their size concerns (Miller and Gabriel are both well under 6’0) and also health.
Wims, with that bigger frame, could be a nice addition to balance out that formula.
