When the Chicago Bears signed Equaniemous St. Brown in free agency it was not surprising because St. Brown is familiar with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. At the same time, it was surprising to see how much money the team invested in a player who struggles to make the Packers just a year ago.
Getsy seemed to have a plan for ESB, and it involved doing some of the little things. We knew that he would be involved in special teams, although he did not participate in the preseason opener. That may be because he was getting snaps as the number two wide receiver.
St. Brown was not putting up big stats on the state sheet, but in the following two plays, you can see why the Bears are rolling with him.
You can see in the play below that he had a role in getting Darnell Mooney open down the field for a 26-yard gain. ESB is lined up on the outside but is running a route to the inside. With Mooney running a fade to the outside, ESB draws his defender close enough to the defender of Mooney that they rub just enough to get Mooney space.
.@Darnell_M1 makin' plays 🤩
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Getsy is looking for a complimentary wideout who may know that he is not getting the ball but will run a route strong enough to free up the intended target. That is what he had in mind when signing ESB.
Below is more of what he wants to see. ESB comes in from the outside and cracks the safety who is crashing into the box, reading the run.
The run does not go for a big gain or anything, and the play will be unnoticed by most, but the receiving room will likely be running the clip over again to speak about how ESB is working to take a player out of the play. If this were blocked better around ESB, his crack block could have created a bigger gain.
St. Brown did a great job running routes to open space for his teammates, and put himself into the run game as a blocker. These are the things that the Bears expected when they signed him this off-season.