Chicago Bears: Must watch college players series continued

Allen Robinson replacement if the Chicago Bears do not extend him

The Chicago Bears missed out on Justin Jefferson due to not having a draft pick in the first round last season, but when you are the best receiver playing with the college’s best quarterback, you need to get a look.

Justyn Ross is that guy. Some might think that belongs to Amari Rodgers. Rodgers is good, don’t get me wrong, but had Ross played, he would have improved what he and Trevor Lawerence had built on. The injury/condition Ross has dealt with is scary. I am not a medical doctor and don’t know much about it other than what I have read. Ross has congenital fusion, which is when two vertebrae are fused. It is rare and sounds like Ross was born with this condition.

Ross has been back to practice but has not been cleared to play just yet. Ross is a 6’4″ and a 204-pound leaping machine that excels with his route running. Sound familiar? Rashod Bateman, listed at 6’2″ and 210 pounds, played a few games this season. Then he opted out after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Big Ten.

Those five games he played in were more than enough considering the previous year he was the Big Ten’s receiver of the year. Stopping Bateman was the number one priority when opposing teams faced him, and they still could not do it no matter how much they double-covered him.

The last thing to cover is the offensive linemen of the list. All are offensive tackles. The offensive tackle situation in Chicago is awful. The coaching staff sounds like they are out with Charles Leno Jr and Bobby Massie is out the door. That is a start, but attention is needed.

If I were the Chicago Bears, I would only draft one tackle. The reason behind that is, they drafted one last season. Many would argue that both linemen drafted were seventh-round selections. I would argue back that Sam Mustipher was undrafted. Sometimes you still need to see what they can become.

Players are missed all the time. It does not matter where you are drafted; production is the most important. The Chicago Bears would be doing themselves a disservice by not seeing what those kids could become in the future, but they do need to draft a plugin and play offensive tackle at some point.