The Chicago Bears have dipped their toes into free agency, but not quite the manner in which some fans had hoped. The reality is that with the number of holes that the roster still has there are questions about what else the team is going to do.
If you look at the wide receiver room specifically and you have to think that the team is going to add one and potentially two more wideouts to the room. The question is what manner?
Chicago Bears should draft an X and sign depth
When we broke down the Bears room before free agency it appeared they had a decision of how to address the room. They could draft an X and sign a slot, or draft a slot and sign an X. Slots are more available in free agency and X wideouts rarely get away from their team. So, it was easier to sign a slot and then draft an X. That is what the team did with Byron Pringle, who primarily ran from the slot.
The team also signed Equanimous St. Brown, but he signed a contract that only guarantees him a trip to training camp. Dazz Newsome and Nsimba Webster are on the roster as well and have a chance to make the team because of their special teams’ value. That leaves Isaiah Coulter who could make the practice squad.
If you assume that they will draft a wideout, and sign another, their depth chart could shape up to look like:
Z – Darnell Mooney
X – Second Round Pick
Y – Byron Pringle
4 – Free Agent
5 – Equanimous St. Brown
6. Dazz Newsome/Nsimba Webster/UDFA/Summer FA
If this is how the group shapes up, you could understand where the team is coming from. Whether the four and five are flipped would depend on the free agent they bring in but based on the salary that St. Brown has they very well could sign a veteran to slot in above him.
Let’s say the team signs someone like Keelan Cole. Cole has always fit into that spot as a number four who can attack deep and add versatility and special teams’ help. He is also under the age of 30 and is likely to come at a deal.
Then, the Chicago Bears have two picks inside the top 50. For the sake of adding a name, we can say that George Pickens may be there at pick 39 based on many mock drafts.
If the Chicago Bears got to the start of the season and their wide receiver corps was:
Z – Darnell Mooney
X – George Pickens
Y – Byron Pringle
4 – Keelan Cole
5 – Equanimous St. Brown
6. Dazz Newsome
What would fans think? It is reasonable to assume that one of their second-round picks goes to wide receiver and that they also sign a free agent at a similar caliber to Keelan Cole. The room is not perfect, but with two additions that come as entirely reasonable, you can at least start to see the vision of where the team would go with this position.