Is Ryan Poles taking a page out of Ryan Pace’s Chicago Bears playbook?
Ryan Poles adds more wide receivers to the Chicago Bears roster
Fans have been up in arms about the wide receiver position — myself included. At first sight, it appears that maybe Ryan Poles is taking a page out of Ryan Pace’s playbook while trying to rebuild the position. Darnell Mooney is the clearcut favorite at the position. Behind him is a bunch of what many would call “unknowns.”
Byron Pringle and David Moore were easily the most well-known names behind Mooney. Equanimeous St. Brown could be argued too, but I’m not falling for him becoming anything more than a marginal player on this roster if he even makes the final 53. Honestly, I have been saying it since he was signed that he is only here to help the other, more talented receivers understand the passing concepts of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Well, yesterday, Ryan Poles signed two more-known wide receivers to the roster. First was Tajae Sharpe — a former fifth-round draft pick of the Titans who was heralded in the fantasy football community as a solid dynasty asset. That never came to fruition as he’s averaged roughly 350 yards receiving and two touchdowns per year over his five-year (not counting 2020 when he only saw three targets) career. I still like the signing as he can be that “X” receiver for the Bears.
The more intriguing signing (another guy who could fit as their X) to me is Dante Pettis. Pettis was a former second-round pick in 2018. He played in the Kyle Shanahan system in San Francisco but never lived up to his hype. Honestly, it’s somewhat reminiscent of the Anthony Miller situation here in Chicago other than Pettis was more injury-related. In his first year, Pettis gained 467 yards and caught five touchdowns. He struggled in year two catching only 45% of his targets. He has not done much since, but I’m excited to see what he can do given the opportunity.
Anyway, although this is not quite the case for Ryan Poles, it does seem somewhat similar to what Ryan Pace did regarding the 2019 kicker situation and 2020 tight end situation. Instead of signing some big-named receivers, he’s bringing in a bunch of different options, drafted Velus Jones in the third round, and is allowing them all to compete for the final six (assuming that many) roster spots for the position. With Mooney, Pringle and Jones likely locks, that leaves three, maybe four spots left to compete for. Make the best receivers win!