Projecting the Chicago Bears Starting 11: Offense

Alshon Jeffery, WR1

Dec 4, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) runs after catching a pass during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field. Dallas won 41-28. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Veteran mentor Brandon Marshall is off to the New York Jets via trade, so now it’s Alshon Jeffery’s chance to perform as the clear-cut #1 guy.  In terms of targets and his statistical output in 2015, Jeffery was already the top dog in the Chicago offense but that was with Marshall on the field for most of the season (keeping defending secondaries honest) and with the Bears often employing a chuck-and-duck attack since their defense wasn’t stopping anybody.

In other words, the situation set up well for Jeffery to have a prolific season.  The other side of the “is he ready to be the guy?” discussion is that Alshon was already on every NFL defense’s radar after an 89/1,421/7 season in 2013 landed him in the Pro Bowl, yet he still came thru amid the weight of expectations with a 85/1,133/10 year in 2014.  And that was in an offense that had quickly become dysfunctional in the second and final year of the Trestman experiment.

Alshon is the man on the outside for this Bears offense and with his ability to go up and get it — a favorite WR attribute of Cutler’s — he’s the most dangerous weapon they have.  He is deserving of #1 billing and in 2015 he will be that, without question.

Eddie Royal, WR2

May 27, 2015; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Eddie Royal (19) during organized team activities at the Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Coming in as free agent this offseason from San Diego is slot specialist, Eddie Royal.  The Bears WR core is heavy on size and downfield playmaking ability, but in recent years has been light on the type of quick-twitch athletes who can be deadly on the short-to-intermediate routes.  Guys like Earl Bennett and Devin Hester tried their hand at this role in recent Bears offenses and for a number of reasons didn’t work out in the long run.

Eddie’s best statistical year was back in 2008 as a member of the Denver Broncos when his QB was, guess who?  You already know.  With Cutler throwing him the ball Royal went for 91/980/5 as the #2 option behind another guy we’re pretty familiar with — Brandon Marshall.

Royal was a rookie in ’08 and now he’s a seasoned veteran coming off of the second-best year of his career.  As a preferred target for Philip Rivers last year, Royal enjoyed a reemergence of sorts in NFL consciousness after he seemingly was flying under the radar for the past several years.  He’s the right guy to help make the offensive attack sustainable and was a great pickup by Ryan Pace.

Kevin White, WR3

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Kevin White (West Virginia) is selected as the number seven overall pick to the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears had a high 1st round pick for the first time in 10 years and took Kevin White, only the second wide receiver since 2001 (David Terrell, #8 overall) that the team has selected in the first round.  The departure of Brandon Marshall highlights the importance for White to contribute early, but expectations are high anyway for a top-round WR in the modern pass-happy NFL.

Considering the other receiving threats he’ll be lining up alongside in this offense, White won’t see much safety help sent his way — at least not early on — and he’ll be able to test his full-grown man status in single coverage against NFL DBs.  Once the 6’3″ White gives defenders a taste of that 4.3 speed, however, you can bet opposing game plans will have a section dedicated to him.

White will have to beat out Marquess Wilson for playing time and my guess is Marquess might just break out in his own right in 2015, but White has the pedigree and is potentially the defining pick of the new regime in Chicago.  So he’ll be on the field on that first offensive possession in September.  Hopefully flashing some gap-toothed smiles.

Next: A Shuffle Up Front