The early days of rookie mini-camps are definitely not the end-all for a players career, but Chicago Bears fans can now see the starting point for where these players will be in their careers. We can now start to see the plan that the front office had in action.
Chicago Bears will work Tyler Scott in the slot
One note that came away from the minicamps is that rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott has been trying new things, and that includes playing in the slot.
Tyler Scott is getting used to working out of the slot, per @kfishbain https://t.co/G96csr2yVS pic.twitter.com/sLwYM3mtvE
— Bear Goggles On (@BearGogglesOn) May 7, 2023
This is true. Per PFF, Tyler Scott has run just 3.7% of his snaps from the slot, a total of 26 snaps. Needless to say, this is going to be new for him.
This is a development worth watching, though, When the Chicago Bears drafted Tyler Scott, a lot of people thought this may be a long-term move to replace Darnell Mooney. One significant change that the new coaching staff made last season was pushing Mooney into the slot more.
Mooney played in the slot 20.5% of the time as a rookie but moved to 43.6% in 2021. However, with the new coaching staff, he was up to 60.5%, and you could argue that it would be more with the proper outside wide receivers.
When the Chicago Bears added Chase Claypool into the mix, their intentions were to make him an outside player after the Steelers experimented with him in the slot before trading him. Mooney was getting his most slot work in the first three games after the Claypool trade, and before he got injured.
So, when you consider that Claypool will be outside, and DJ Moore was drafted to be the X on the outside, Mooney will not move from a 2/3 slot player to a full-time slot player.
Tyler Scott was drafted with no slot experience, but if the plan is for him to spend the year as the number four who learns the slot, then it seems pretty apparent that the team will be moving on from Mooney after this season.
Similar to Mooney, Scott may be in the slot minimally as a rookie, then part-time in year two, and then he becomes the full-time slot option by year three. It is an adjustment, but they can ease him now that they have three capable starting wide receivers.