The Chicago Bears have less than two weeks to finish up any remaining work before the NFL draft on April 24th. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have been busy going through a series of private visits with 30 prospects they may have interest in. Every team is allotted that number. Unsurprisingly, most of the biggest names they’ve met involve positions of need, such as defensive line, offensive line, and running back. However, it appears they’ve also been active on the wide receiver front as well.
One would think the Bears are content with their situation there because they have D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze at the top, and Olamide Zaccheaus is arriving in free agency. Based on the activity over the past two weeks, that is not the case. The Bears could be eyeing another weapon. So far, four names have emerged as official visits. None of them are predicted to go in the 1st round, which is no surprise. Where it gets interesting is when one looks into their backgrounds. It turns out all four players have one specific thing in common.
Isaiah Bond (Texas)
“An offense should feed him a heavier diet of shallow crossers, deep digs and quick-game throws, allowing him to make magic with the ball in his hands and add to their chunk play total.”
Jaylin Layne (Virginia Tech)
“Semi-versatile slot option with legitimate long speed and talent to add yardage with the ball in his hands.”
Kyle Williams (Washington State)
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“He eliminates pursuit angles as a catch-and-run artist and gets respectful cushions, allowing for easy comeback throws.”
Tre Harris (Ole Miss)
“He’s fast enough to win over the top and talented with the ball in his hands to stretch short throws into longer yardage.”
The Chicago Bears are looking for creators.
Johnson showed in Detroit that he loves having wide receivers who are dangerous after the catch. That was the case for both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. He already has one in Chicago with Moore. That isn’t really Odunze’s game, though. It makes sense the Chicago Bears head coach would like to add another. It would explain why some reports indicate they have a ton of interest in Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden. He is another player who is dangerous with the ball in his hands. As always, everything will be dictated by how the board falls. It won’t happen in the 1st round. The Bears have three picks between #39 and #72. One has to think they will strike at some point in that range. Caleb Williams will then have arguably the deep wide receiving corps a Bears quarterback has ever had.
Good that they are looking in this direction. I’ve always thought this quality could be taught, so I’m critical of teams that don’t coach or emphasize it. But players have to have a mentality of understanding that catching a ball in traffic, in the middle of a field, may open themselves up for hits.
This is why I like Moore, and despise coaches afraid to throw in the middle intermediate areas (and then fans who criticize quarterbacks who don’t throw there). No one throws, if plays aren’t run to that area.
Pssst, Lambert, this is not a Ben Johnson thing, this is a NFL thing going back 40years since Rice showed that you can get 80 yards on a 5 yard slant.
I never will.
I never liked QBs and WRS either on or off the field. I still don’t.
Not being pessimistic here, but this exact same thing was touted last year.