Chicago Bears Week One: Breakout Candidate
The Chicago Bears start their 2018 campaign against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packer this Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
Week One will be the first examination for the Chicago Bears revamped offense under Matt Nagy, while Vic Fangio looks to use his new pass rusher Khalil Mack to improve his top ten defense.
With the explosive options that Nagy brings to the table, the offense is sure to have a positive evening. Not necessarily an underdog to break out, but Allen Robinson has been relatively quiet this camp after receiving his 3 year/$42 million contract this offseason.
The Bears have kept Robinson out of a action this preseason to ease him back into the play after tearing his ACL last season. In Robinson’s last two healthy seasons in the league he had 153 catches 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns, which is part of the reason why the Bears gave him that contract even with the injury.
Robinson is a physical specimen at 6’3 who has a go-up-and-get-it type of skill set that will challenge the Packers secondary that is in question at the top with Kevin King and Tramon Williams and are young in their depth with rookies Josh Jackson and Jaire Alexander.
We haven’t seen what Robinson looks like other than in training camp practices, but when he was in practice he made some catches from Trubisky. The connection between him and Trubisky will be key to the overall success of the passing attack. Having a connection with the one legitimate outside threat on the roster will allow the Bears talented and speedy slot receiver to cause havoc against the linebackers of the Packers.
It will be the first time since Alshon Jeffery that the Chicago Bears have a formidable receiver that has some ability to make plays with his hands whether that is over the shoulder catches or balls that aren’t put into the perfect spot by Trubisky.
If there was a set number for the a breakout game by Robinson, it would be around five receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers are very obtainable for Robinson, and if he can get that on a consistent basis we will need to continue to praise Ryan Pace for bringing in quality talent at a reasonable rate for this Bears team moving forward.