Chicago Bears Trade Up in 2nd Round to Grab WR Alshon Jeffery

Another position of need for the Chicago Bears was the wide receiver position.  If they hadn’t pulled off the Brandon Marshall trade, this would have been a first round, high priority.  Phil Emery thought it was still enough of a need to invest a 2nd round pick in wide receiver Alshon Jeffery out of South Carolina.  They traded up 5 spots and gave up their 2nd (50th) and 5th round pick (150 overall) to grab the 45th pick from the St. Louis Rams.

Jeffery is a big wide receiver, who figures to be a red zone threat.  Opposite Brandon Marshall, Jeffery will offer Jay Cutler multiple threats and really bolsters the Bears wide receiving corp.  Slide Earl Bennett down a notch and move Devin Hester into the slot as the 4th receiver and you’ve got something.  When Johnny Knox comes back, you’ve got yourself a real NFL wide receiver group.

The pick does not come without some reservations.  There were some big questions about Jeffery, which caused him to slide into the middle of the 2nd round.  He had a monster 2010 season, racking up over 1500 yards and 9 TD, but he saw a sharp dropoff in production in 2011.  Some scouts said he seemed disinterested last season.  He showed up to the Combine having ballooned up to 230 pounds.  It will be up to the Bears to keep him motivated and maximize his potential.