If the Chicago Bears are going to take a wide receiver in the second round it appears as though the team will need to make their selection at pick 39, and not wait until 48. The number of wideouts available in that range combined with the number of WR hungry teams between 40 and 47 means that the team should decide on one at 39 or wait until pick 71 to take a wideout.
While they do not know who will be on the board, we do know that five wide receivers will not be on the board. While these five are first-round locks, the rest have a chance to slide to pick 39. Assuming only those five wide receivers are gone, who are the next five that should come off of the board?
5. Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
NFL comparison: Cedrick Wilson
We did a profile on Jalen Tolbert earlier this draft season, and we came to the conclusion that he would be a good fit with the Chicago Bears. The question with Tolbert is more about whether 39 is too rich for him to be drafted.
In some regards, you could say no. Most services rate him as a second-round pick, and he put up 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in back-to-back seasons with his hometown college.
Tolbert has an ability to get deep and make splash plays, but the question is how much he can refine his role beyond that. He is a bit thin and can get bullied at times when corners get their hands on him.
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While the big play is his go-to his speed was not blow-away speed when tested at the NFL combine. Beyond that, he can struggle at times with the contested catch, often because of his thinner frame.
While the need for a big-play threat is there, and Tolbert can track the ball as good as anyone, the 39th pick may be a bit rich. Tolbert may be stuck in a range where he is just outside the top 50 players but is unlikely to fall into the 71st pick.
4. Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State
NFL Comparison: Eddie Royal
Jahan Dotson is the opposite of Tolbert in that it may be more likely that he is off of the board than he is in range for the Chicago Bears. Still, that may be a blessing in disguise.
No one is going to knock the catch radius and hands that Dotson has. He dealt with erratic passes and contorted his body in special ways to haul in passes. He can catch the ball away from his body and has very strong hands that pluck the ball away.
Still, in the NFL when the defenders are bigger, stronger, and faster the question is how can he adjust? Jahan Dotson is under 180 pounds, and while he is fast, 4.44 speed is much more impressive on a 200-pound frame than 180 pounds. Most speedy players under 180 pounds run 4.3 to find NFL success.
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He is thin and that can often show when he a cornerback gets their hands on him, as he can too easily be knocked off of his route. He will likely transition to the slot in the NFL and started that transition at Penn State last season.
Still, even in the slot, there are questions about yards after the catch because he was not the most elusive wideout at Penn State. It is fun to see the small go extend his radius and haul in passes, but the NFL is far more than that and there are questions about how many chances Dotson will get to become a truly special separator. Eddie Royal had a prolific college career, fell to 42nd in the second round despite first-round tape, and then realized that his skills are not elite in the NFL and that he is a solid role player. That seems to be a likely outcome for Jahan Dotson.
3. Christian Watson, North Dakota State
NFL Comparison: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Christian Watson has the tantalizing combination of size and speed that will surely see him going in the top 60 picks. Watson was most impressed with the ball in his hands, and you do not often see someone so tall be able to wiggle like that on a reverse.
Of course, that speed also shows when he is attacking down the football, and against smaller schools, you saw Watson breeze by defenders with ease.
Watson answered a lot of questions about his small school competition when he performed well at the Senior Bowl and at the NFL combine.
Still, fans and NFL coaches have to recognize that while Watson offers upside, he also is very raw in his development. It is very little in terms of going over the middle in his game. Often the way he gets the ball is a hand-off or a go-route, and there is little in between right now.
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Watson also has hands that are up and down. When you combine that Watson is a great and active blocker with all of these skills, Watson has plenty of traits similar to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. When the ball is in his hands, he is dangerous, but he hardly can create for himself, and even then he can have the occasional drop.
Luke Getsy saw how to use MVS first hand, and the usage would be similar with Christian Watson.
2. Skyy Moore, Western Michigan
NFL Comparison: Christian Kirk
Skyy Moore has shot up draft boards recently after having an impressive NFL combine performance. Still, all that did was told people to watch his WMU tape, and from there, the hype was easy to understand.
The first thing you notice about Moore is how detailed he is. His first route sets up his second route and so on. He can jab inside and then burst outside, then sprint outside only to slam on the breaks and cut inside.
With that in mind, he is a separation artist. Moore is also one of the more lethal WRs with the ball in his hands. He is a bit shorter than Jahan Dotson but about 14 pounds heavier, and it shows as he muscles his way around defenders in ways that translate to the NFL.
Moore can win deep, and short, before and after the catch. Of course, he played at a small school as well, and at 5’9″ he may be reduced to life in the slot. Still, while he played at a smaller school, WMU was FBS, unlike NDSU, and Moore is nearly two years younger than Watson, making it an easy call to put Moore ahead of Watson.
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Still, we saw that Christian Kirk was able to threaten the deep area of the field from the slot last season and it led to a big payday as a new part of the slot game was unleashed. Skyy Moore can be the same as a route technician, but also a wideout who can take the top off from the slot.
1. Should Chicago Bears draft George Pickens?
NFL Comparison: Marvin Jones
It is very hard to watch George Pickens and not come away with the perception of Marvin Jones. Both are tall and thin, and while they both play tall, neither plays very thin. George Pickens is a master of winning the ball in the air.
It can be out jumping his opponent, but very often it is perfect timing and a will to take the ball out of the air. Marvin Jones has some of the more appreciative combative catch-point plays in the NFL and he will only soon be rivaled by Pickens.
Pickens can be a field stretcher and big-play creator like Jones, but he does have some questions, starting with his health. He missed most of 2021 with an ACL injury and while he did come back, it is still true that his best tape was his 2019 video.
Still, what you saw in 2019 was shades of a better player than even Marvin Jones. You saw a potentially dominant player and if he can get back to that, he will be well worth the pick. This should be a good time to note that he is also about two years younger than Christian Watson, and also a few months younger than Skyy Moore. If you are going to bet on the upside in round two, take the young player who dominated the SEC at age 18.
That is why George Pickens is the best fit for the Chicago Bears.