5 reasons Chicago Bears will release Taylor Gabriel

3. Stats decline

Gabriel was not just injured in 2019, he was less efficient across the board. This is not just because of quarterback play, either.

His drop rate shot up from 2.9% to 9%. His yards after the catch per reception dropped from 3.3 to 2.8. His yards per route run, missed tackles forced, and contested catch rate all dropped.

Beyond that, Gabriel is not quite the player that some see him as. While he is looked at as the deep threat of the passing offense, he was the least efficient receiver on passes that traveled 20 yards down the field or more.

This expands over a two-year sample as well. Trubisky was 9-27 targeting Gabriel deep. In comparison, Allen Robinson was 23-49 targeted deep. Even Anthony Miller has been more efficient in the deep passing game, at 11-26 when targeted.

Tarik Cohen is 5-12 when targeted deep. Even that has been more efficient than Gabriel. Gabriel is targeted deep on 16.7% of his targets. This is lower than Miller at 17% and Robinson at 19%. This is not an injury or volume issue. This is Gabriel not getting open deep enough, and not converting deep targets enough.