Can Tarik Cohen lead the Bears in receiving in 2017?
Tarik Cohen is currently the Bears leading receiver. Can this last?
While it is only one game, and it is only 47 yards, Tarik Cohen is the Bears leading receiver. This should not be too big of a surprise, considering he led the team in targets with 12, comparing to just five carries. With Cameron Meredith out for the season and Kevin White out for the foreseeable future, it does become a question as to whether or not Cohen can lead the team in receiving as a rookie.
He did not just lead the team in targets, his 12 were as many as Zach Miller, Kendall Wright, and Deonte Thompson combined. These are the likely suspects when it comes to competing with Cohen for targets. Cohen is already proving to be schemed into the playbook more than any of these threats and he may have an edge over all of these threats.
Markus Wheaton and Tanner Gentry are X-factors. Wheaton is coming back from a finger injury and only being 47 yards back at this point, the Bears would
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hope that he is the leader in receptions. However, he has missed a lot of time in the past two seasons with injuries. Gentry is still on the practice squad but may get a nod if White does indeed go on the IR. He has a chance but has to beat out players such as Thompson and Wheaton to even see the field.
Cohen will be on the field. He can run slants, drags, and crosses. He can be used in the screen game. Cohen was used as one of the few times the team decided to stretch the field. Cohen burnt the Falcons coverage deep, but Mike Glennon under threw him, causing the ball to be defended.
This is not just a joke. While the likely answer is Wheaton or Wright, there is a serious question as to whether or not this backup running back can be a leading wide receiver for an NFL team. Time will tell, but the Bears are certainly going to get the ball in his hands, in the passing game or in the rushing game.