Chicago Bears: 2020 projected wide receiver depth chart pre-training camp
By Joseph Herff
‘Z’ Wide Receiver
- Ted Ginn Jr.
- Darnell Mooney (R)
One of the most important factors of this offense is speed. The ‘Z’ wide receiver essentially is the player who is expected to stretch the field and open up the underneath routes for the slot and ‘X’. Ted Ginn Jr. is the perfect fit for this role as well. Ginn is great at doing this job as this has essentially been his job in the NFL since 2007. Some think he may get cut, but Nagy worked way too hard to get him for him to be cut.
Last season, Ginn caught 30 passes for 421 yards and two touchdowns while on the New Orleans Saints. Ginn hasn’t done much in his career as a volume type of receiver, but his speed is something that can kill a defense. His best year came in 2015 in Carolina when he caught 44 passes for 739 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The rookie Darnell Mooney expects to be the backup to Ginn and ready to roll if he is to go down to an injury or struggles early on. Along with Ginn, Mooney is a deep threat killer with his 4.38 40 yard dash time. He excelled greatly in college using his speed to beat corners and to take slants to the house.
Mooney was drafted in the fifth round by the Bears this past season. During his four year career, he played all four years catching 154 passes for 2,572 yards and 19 touchdowns. His best year came his junior year when he had 993 yards (20.7 average) and eight touchdowns.