Chicago Bears: 5 free agents Ryan Pace missed on in 2020

Breshad Perriman, Wide Receiver

After releasing Taylor Gabriel, the Chicago Bears struggled to find a true deep threat to replace him. They attempted to do so by drafting Darnell Mooney in the fifth round for the future and by signing an aging deep threat in Ted Ginn Jr. for the short-term.

Breshad Perriman would have been the perfect replacement and a major upgrade to Gabriel for the Bears. For his size, Perriman has unbelievable metrics as he is in the 100th percentile for 40-yard dash and the 99th percentile for speed score. At 6’2″ and weighing 212 pounds, he ran a 4.30 40-yard dash.

The issue with Perriman is he really has never shown it at the NFL level. After being drafted in the first round in 2015, he never put it together until the end of the 2020 NFL season. He was released in 2018 by the Ravens, spent 2018 on the Browns, and then signed with the Buccaneers fighting with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for targets.

After Evans went down to an injury and even Godwin as well, Perriman exploded. He ended 2019 with five straight games of over 70 receiving yards and catching five touchdown passes including three in one game. He would have been a perfect deep threat to play alongside Allen Robinson for the relatively cheap one-year prove-it deal.