One of the big winners of the Senior Bowl was Dontayvion Wicks, a wide receiver from Virginia. Wicks was voted the player of the week. Considering the Chicago Bears’ heavy presence at the event, Wicks has to be on their radar. How would he fit with the team?
Should Chicago Bears Draft Dontayvion Wicks
Below is the statistical production for Dontayvion Wicks. You can see that this is going to be a question for him in the draft process.
"View post on imgur.com"
Wicks did not take off until his junior season, but he was excellent. However, he came back down to earth as a Senior and ended the year with an injury. He already looks healthy, and that is why the Senior Bowl is such h a big event.
What are his strengths and weaknesses?
Dontayvion Wicks Draft Profile: Strengths and Weaknesses
Dontayvion Wicks is likely a Z wide receiver in the NFL. Most of his work can come deep down the field, or it can come in the screen game. With that in mind, he is dynamic in both areas. Wicks has the ability to create after the catch, but also down the field. His best trait may be ball tracking.
However, he does present questions as well. His route tree is not complete, although the Senior Bowl did answer a lot more questions about his untapped upside.
Still, he can struggle with strength and press off of the line of scrimmage. He was completely shut down by Devon Witherspoon and the Illinois secondary, where he had two catches on 13 targets. A lot of the time the defenders crashing hard on him and smacking his arms caused drops.
Speaking of drops, he had one of the worst drop rates in the country and added a few fumbles as well. His catching technique is not great, and his fumbles can probably come back to questionable playing strength.
Does Dontayvion Wicks fit Chicago Bears?
A lot of the questions listed from Wicks popped up during his Senior season, and if you look at his junior tape, there is a lot more to buy into. Still, even with the Senior Bowl showing that last year was not the end-all of his career, one year of production cannot be erased by one nice week.
Wicks should not be on the Chicago Bears’ radar until day three. At that point, his deep ball ability could be refined, and with better hand placement, he could become a big play threat. Perhaps his stock will continue to rise if he shows out well during the NFL combine. For now, he is on the rise, but not jumping into the day two range.