The Chicago Bears will be looking to sign or draft a wide receiver this offseason. Considering they have two starters, and four overall receivers locked in, they have to be selective with who they add because they likely will only take one shot at it.
Would signing Jakobi Meyers in free agency be the move for the Chicago Bears to make?
Should the Chicago Bears sign Jakobi Meyers in NFL Free Agency?
The reality is that Jakobi Meyers is one of the top wide receivers in free agency. He is coming off of his rookie salary deal and will be 27 next season. Beyond that, he has over 700 yards in the past three seasons and over 800 in the past two years.
Because of the market, he may see a payday, but the Chicago Bears can afford it, and it will not be quite like Christian Kirk’s deal last year anyways.
The one thing the team may want to factor in is how well he would fit with Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney. Mooney played in the slot 61% of the time last season. Claypool spent most of his time in the slot in Pittsburgh, but he also ended 2022 with 61% of his route run from the slot.
Then, there is Jakobi Meyers who ran 70% of his routes from the slot this past season. For his career, he has run 64% of his routes from there. Of the three, he is the least likely to move from the slot.
On the surface, it is not a great fit, but since Claypool was traded, they moved him back to the outside. Darnell Mooney went from a 21% slot to 44% and 61% last season. His production dropped with the increase in the slot.
Last season, he averaged 1.23 yards per route run from the slot, compared to 2.14 yards per route run outside. Perhaps the team looks to get Mooney back on the outside more often.
With Mooney and Claypool on the outside, it may be getting them back to where they perform best. We already know Jakobi Meyers is a slot, so this is where he performs best.
The next question is whether you want a reliable slot that works the short to intermediate, or a potential seam splitter. Jakobi Meyers is the former, and the team may prefer the latter.
If the price is right, the Chicago Bears will show interest. Still, they have to be sure he Is the right fit for Justin Fields and next to Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool because he is not quite good enough to be a “best player available” signing.