Chicago Bears: How Good Will WRs Be in 2019?
Throughout the history of the Chicago Bears, the franchise has never really had a strong reputation of having an offense that moves the ball down the field with flashy wide receivers. Yes, there have been instances when the Bears had some receivers put up big numbers in the same season.
Looking back to 1995, when Jeff Graham and Curtis Conway were the first pass-catching duo in the franchise’s history to each have a 1,000-yard receiving year. This feat was accomplished again in 2013 with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. But all in all, the Bears’ offense has hung their hat on their ground game.
Now, Chicago’s offensive scheme has dramatically changed since the 2018 arrival of head coach Matt Nagy. With this change, the Bears definitely have the receiving corps to keep up with the other high-powered offenses in the NFL. This change first started last season when Chicago acquired Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel via free agency, then later selecting Anthony Miller in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Last year, Robinson led all Bears wide receivers with 754 receiving yards, while Miller was tops on the team with seven receiving touchdowns. Although running back Tarik Cohen led the entire team with 71 catches, it was Gabriel who had the most receptions (67) among all of Chicago’s wide receivers in 2018.
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With the contributions of Robinson, Gabriel, and Miller, the Bears finished last season ranked only 21st in passing. Having a full year of experience in Nagy’s system should help things go much smoother in 2019. In addition, the arrival of some new pass catchers should help as well.
The Bears signed Cordarrelle Patterson during the offseason, who could be a threat anytime he has his hands on the ball. Also, Chicago drafted Georgia wide receiver Riley Ridley, who has pleasantly surprised some folks so far in minicamp. Javon Wims, Marvin Hall, and former running back now wide receiver Taquan Mizzell rounds out the Bears group of receivers.
Among this group, some are saying that a couple of these players will stand out in 2019. According to newarena.com, both Robinson and Miller are listed as two of the top 32 receivers in the league entering the 2019 season. As a group, sbnation.com has Chicago’s receiving corps ranked as the 10th-best in the NFL going into this year’s regular season. However, not everyone feels this way about the Bears receivers. In fact, Bleacher Report has Chicago’s pass-catching bunch in the middle of the pack as the NFL’s 20th-best receiving corps.
With the difference in opinion, just how good is the Bears’ group of receivers? Considering the offensive scheme, and comparing the current receivers to the receivers of the franchise’s past, it’s safe to say that this group is the best this team has seen in a very long time. But, are they good enough to be mentioned among the league’s best in 2019 and for years to come?
All of this will definitely depend on the arm and decision-making of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Assuming that Trubisky makes the leap from last season, then Chicago’s receiving corps could raise a lot of eyebrows.
After observing the defenses the Bears will be facing in 2019, they’ll have their share of challenges and potential easy outings.
Five of Chicago’s games in 2019 will be against pass defenses that ranked in the top ten last year. They’ll play the Minnesota Vikings (third) and the Detroit Lions (eighth) twice, and the Los Angeles Chargers (ninth). On the flipside, four of their opponents on this season’s schedule (New York Giants, 23rd; New Orleans Saints, 29th; Philadelphia Eagles 30th; Kansas City Chiefs, 31st) placed near the bottom of the league against the pass in 2018.
On paper, it appears that the Bears’ wide receivers could make a lot of noise in 2019. Unfortunately, games aren’t won on paper. Seeing how things have built up for Chicago’s passing game from last season, the arrow seems to be pointing in the right direction for the receiving corps. Obviously, we won’t get a clearer depiction of how they’ll look until training camp and the preseason. But as of right now, Bears fans have much to be excited about when it comes to the Bears’ pass catchers in 2019.