Ten Questions Facing the Chicago Bears in 2015
By Andrew Poole
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
Who will be the #2 wide receiver opposite Alshon Jeffrey?
For three years, the Bears had a pair of monsters on the outside of their offense in Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall. Trading Marshall this offseason seemed to push the passing game back a step, but the Bears stepped up to the plate in signing Eddie Royal and selecting arguably the best wide receiver in the draft in West Virginia’s Kevin White.
I like the signing of Royal, who is a proven commodity as a slot receiver in the NFL. He’s coming off a solid season in San Diego, with 62 catches, 778 yards and seven touchdowns. His best season came as a rookie in 2008 with Denver, where he caught 91 passes and nine touchdowns playing with Cutler. He should provide Jay with another security blanket, along with Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte.
That being said, White should emerge as the receiver opposite Jeffrey on opening day unless he’s injured. While he’s raw, White’s physical talents are too vast to ignore. The seventh pick in the draft, White is a mixture of Marshall’s size but with 4.35 speed, which was third best at the combine in 2015. Marshall, by the end of his tenure with the Bears, was a possession receiver whose main value was in his connection with Cutler, his physicality (particularly in the red zone) and his tenacity after the catch.
White has big-play speed and Marshall’s ferocity when going after the ball, and should be able to be a deep threat and possession receiver for the Bears.
The Bears should be wary of having two overly similar receivers on the field; that hindered them in 2014, as neither Jeffrey nor Marshall had the speed or agility to get open against tight coverage, leading to tight throws and jump balls. But White’s speed should be able to take the top off coverage, something the Bears couldn’t do last season, leading to opportunities for Jeffrey and other receivers.
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