Chicago Bears – Favorite Wide Receiver Targets
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears wide receiver combo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey is one of the best in the league. Besides those two pro bowl caliber receivers, the Bears have a lot of question marks. They released Earl Bennett in the off-season which cleared the way for last year’s 7th round pick Marquess Wilson to move in to the 3rd receiver role. He is talented and the coaches raved about his work in practice last season, but he is untested. The Bears also brought in free agent backups, Josh Morgan and Domenik Hixon, and still have Eric Weems on the roster. Wilson has plenty of upside but the other options don’t do much for me and I think Emery will bring in a young receiver to challenge Wilson for the 3rd receiver role. This is one of the best drafts for receivers ever and the Bears should be able to draft a high upside talent as late as the 4th or 5th round. Considering that the Bears starters are both tall , outside the hash-mark receivers, it makes sense to target a quick underneath weapon.
I have listed the players below that I like best for the Bears in every round at each position of need.
DT | FS | SS | MLB | OLB | CB | WR | TE | RB | QB
WR Depth Chart:
WR1 – Brandon Marshall, Marquess Wilson, Domenik Hixon, Josh Bellamy
WR2 – Alshon Jeffrey, Josh Morgan, Eric Weems, Chris Williams
Round 1 (#14) – Brandon Cooks, Oregon St (5’10, 186): Very explosive after the catch, great hands, and runs crisp routes. Cooks will be best utilized in a west coast offense that will give him the ball on short-to-intermediate routes and let him go to work. His size is less than ideal, but he was unstoppable as a junior (128 catches, 1730 yards, 16 TDs). He’s a poor man’s Steve Smith right now, but has the potential to be more. I would be shocked if the Bears went with a receiver in the first two rounds, but you never know. Cooks would be the perfect complement to Marshall & Jeffrey.
Round 2 (#51) – Davante Adams, Fresno St (6’1, 212): Adams just knows how to get open. In two seasons at Fresno St, Adams caught a ridiculous 233 passes for 3,031 yards and 38 touchdowns. Those are Tecmo Bowl numbers, but somewhat inflated by the Fresno St’s spread offense and weak competition. Even taking those negative factors into account, it’s still pretty darn impressive. Adams has good size, reliable hands, and uses his body well to block out defenders. He runs well after the catch with the ability to make people miss and break tackles if they don’t. His straight-line speed was considered a flaw, but after a 4.56 40 at the combine it’s hard to find anything to complain about. Adams would give the Bears a reliable possession receiver with good YAC potential.