History shows the Chicago Bears should draft a receiver by the third round
If we look at the Chicago Bears roster, the team obviously has plenty of needs. You can scream from the mountain tops that the team needs help on the offensive line. I cannot imagine any Bears fan thinking otherwise. This is not the only area of need though. The wide receiver room needs help. The team needs competition and depth at cornerback and linebacker as well. With free agency options nearly dried up, the next step is finding talent within the 2022 NFL Draft class.
One thing that is going for the Chicago Bears this year is that the wide receiver class is fairly deep. Not every single WR who is coming out and shows talent will translate into the NFL. When I look at the wide receiver class as a whole, none of them would replace Ja’Marr Chase or Jaylen Waddle on my big board from last season. That said, I find that five of them are worthy of a first-round pick — a pick the Bears and Ryan Poles do not have. That said, give me Justin Fields over having a first-round pick this season.
The Chicago Bears would need to trade up for a top-5 WR prospect
The five wide receivers I have graded as first-round options, in order of my rankings, include:
- Garrett Wilson
- Jameson Williams
- Chris Olave
- Drake London
- Treylon Burks
When I look at this group, I do not see how any of them falls to the Chicago Bears’ first pick at No. 39 overall. Some have thought that Treylon Burks might fall due to his NFL Combine performance, but we tend to overthink 40-times when grading receivers. Burks might be the most “ready” wide receiver of this group. My only issue with him is that although his floor should be fantastic, his ceiling does not do enough to excite me.
With these five likely off the board by the time the Chicago Bears make their first selection, let’s take a look at why history says Ryan Poles and the Bears should use one of their first three picks (second and/or third-rounders) on a wide receiver if they truly want to find a difference-maker.