Chicago Bears: 4 players on offense who must step up to make the playoffs

Anthony Miller – WR

When it comes to Anthony Miller, the jury is still out. However, he is entering the coveted third year of his career. Many believe that the third year is the magical year for wide receivers. Many will break out, but those who do not usually wind up falling short of greatness.

Ryan Pace made a trade to take Miller in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. His first season was actually solid. Despite only starting four games that year, he caught 33 of his 54 targets for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.

In 2019, Miller started seven games and grabbed 52 balls on 85 targets for 656 yards but only two touchdowns. In both seasons, Miller caught 61 percent of his passes and averaged 12.7 yards per catch. He saw four drops in 2018 and three in 2019. Overall, he has been fairly consistent outside of his touchdown rate. Touchdowns are very flukey though and no one should be surprised if they fluctuate from year-to-year.

The big disappointment with Miller is the fact he has had two shoulder injuries over the last two years. Although the shoulder did not put Miller on injured reserve, he has had to have surgery on his left shoulder during both offseasons. Will the shoulder continue to be a problem?

If healthy, Miller could be one of the better receivers in the game, but he also needs to work on his lapses in judgment. I fear that he believes his talent is good enough and he does not need to study. The thing is, Miller clearly needs to dive more into Matt Nagy’s playbook since he has run the wrong routes on too many occasions. Hopefully the defeat the team felt in 2019 will help everyone focus more. The offense needs Miller to be a legit weapon in 2020 to succeed.

If three of the four find a way to improve and succeed in 2020, the Chicago Bears should have no problem finding their way into the playoffs once again.