Chicago Bears new slot receiver
Speaking of the Chicago Bear’s next draft pick. Dazz Newsome fell to the 221st overall selection. The argument was which receiver will the Chicago Bears select. Cade Johnson of North Dakota State others? I thought Dazz Newsome would be the pick at 217, but he was still available at 217. Newsome was the none common denominator of the Chicago Bears draft class.
Newsome is not overall athletic like he was touted to be when he went to North Carolina. Newsome does not have any special abilities to leap over defenders to catch passes. Newsome also has a limited route tree and drop concerns. So why draft him? Because Newsome shows up. Speed does kill, but showing up is important too.
Many (including myself) expected the Chicago Bears to target another speedy threat at the receiver position to replace Anthony Miller in the slot potentially. There are a few issues with Miller, not including his fight. Miller was a one-person wrecking crew at Memphis. The offense was all about getting Miller the ball at all costs.
Miller could freelance a lot in and out of the slot while often running past defenders to score. Miller was a great college prospect but wasn’t the player the Chicago Bears were expecting. The Chicago Bears have missed on quarterbacks for years, but another position they have missed is the slot receiver. That seems to go unnoticed throughout Ryan Pace’s tenure. Eddie Royal was given a mega-contract in 2015, and Ryan Pace was adamant on how important that position is with his vision.
Eddie Royal was out of gas by the time he played with the Chicago Bear’s, and Ryan Pace attacked the position aggressively again by trading up for Anthony Miller in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. Talent-wise, Miller was not a miss, but fit and attitude-wise, it was a miss. Ryan Pace knew this year’s (2021) draft class was deep at receiver. The 2021 NFL Draft was even deeper at the slot receiver position.
Dazz Newsome is a pure slot receiver. Newsome is not a projection when it comes to this position. Out of 1,055 snaps, only six snaps were played outside of the slot for Newsome throughout his career. Newsome comes in with loads of experience in that position. That will allow him to focus on his deficiencies like body catching the ball and route recognition. Newsome also comes with punt return experience, which would enable him to see the field early. Newsome might not be extremely fast, but he isn’t slow.