Chicago Bears Week 15 Dud No. 2: Velus Jones Jr., WR
The Chicago Bears must have seen some insane potential in Velus Jones Jr. after making him the only wide receiver they selected in last year’s draft. Unfortunately for the Bears, that investment has not seemed to pay off. Velus Jones Jr. has been a big disappointment this season, and this game against the Eagles was a step in the wrong direction for the rookie.
For a couple of weeks, Jones looked like he could potentially be a dynamic playmaker. His vertical speed off the line of scrimmage as a deep threat combined with his ability to be used as a gadget player or “wide-back” was shown in bits throughout the year. Bits will not do when you are trying to give your quarterback athletic weapons to distribute the ball to.
With no Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, as well as losing Equanimeous St. Brown to a concussion early in the game, Velus Jones was not able to take advantage of the extra opportunities. These are the weeks when coaches and the front office want to see more out of him, and he disappointed again this week. He had a fumble after a reception and a fumble on a kick return today. It has been a struggle for him to hold onto the football this year, both on offense and special teams.
He had one rush for no gain and a catch for three yards which he fumbled on. That was the totality of his production today. It really is hard to see him play like this considering the size and speed that he has and that he is a more mature rookie. The Bears opted to wait in the draft to take a receiver and hoped that Velus would be a steal, but he has been the worst rookie for the Bears so far. It is clear that the Bears are starting to understand this too, as we saw Nsimba Webster, a practice squad call-up, take over Velus’ role late in the game today.
There are a few more games for the rookie to show something, but if his play keeps up and he is hurting the team with his costly turnovers, there could be an interesting conversation about him in the offseason. There is a lot of pressure on Velus Jones Jr. over the final games of this season, and hopefully, he can find a spark in his game.