Chicago Bears Depth Chart: The most underrated battle heading into camp
By Joseph Herff
Chicago Bears kick return options: Marquise Goodwin, Wide Receiver
The Bears made it a priority this offseason to add more explosion to their offense and they did that by adding quite a few players like that. Marquise Goodwin is one of those players who displays incredible athleticism and speed in the NFL. He recently competed in an Olympic Qualifier for the long jump.
Goodwin has some experience returning kicks as he returned 16 kicks as a rookie in 2013. He averaged 21.9 yards per return with those kicks. He additionally returned four kicks in 2014 and two kicks in 2015. Goodwin hasn’t done it since then, but he could take that role as no players really have any experience on the roster.
Chicago Bears kick return options: Damiere Byrd, Wide Receiver
Just as I said above, the Bears made it a priority to add explosive players to their offense. Byrd is another one of those players as he is a deep threat wide receiver who displays incredible speed as it was reported he ran a 4.25-second 40-yard dash. He, along with Goodwin, should add plenty of speed to the receiving core along with some competition for the kickoff return job.
Byrd has experience returning both kicks and punts. He didn’t do it often, but he had an impressive 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in 2017 while he was on the Carolina Panthers. He never returned kicks while on the New England Patriots in 2020, but he could compete for the job in Chicago given the current circumstance.