The Chicago Bears drafted Tyler Scott in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. With that in mind, expectations are not too high, and the team does not expect him to start. However, they are putting a lot on his plate, and he could leave this season much better, even without a lot of playing time.
Chicago Bears continue to put more on Tyler Scott's plate
First, the Chicago Bears asked him to move into the slot. Because Darnell Mooney is still working back from his injury, Scott has been able to get some snaps with the first team in the slot. This is good for any fourth-round rookie, but Scott never even played in the slot at Cincinnati. There was a rare snap here, and there, but he played over 96% of his snaps on the outside.
The Bears are already asking him to do a lot, but on top of that, they have him returning punts. This is also something Scott was not familiar with when he was with the Bearcats. That is because Tre Tucker was an elite return option, and he actually went higher than Scott in the same draft class.
Tucker was so dynamic that Scott was not needed; it was not that Scott could not serve the role. With that in mind, he will get a chance to be a punt return option. Both of these are keys to getting him on the field.
By being able to play the slot or the outside, he is now able to get on the field no matter which receiver gets injured, and he can fill a variety of roles. Beyond that, getting punt return action guarantees he is active on game days. If the Chicago Bears need Velus Jones to return kicks and Dante Pettis to return punts, they already have five wideouts active.
They could certainly keep the sixth wide receiver active, but when a sixth wide receiver is not as valuable on special teams and is hardly getting on the field, it is easy to make him inactive. Seeing Scott get punt return looks may end up being more of a story than him working in the slot, at least when we are talking about this season.
If Scott can hold that down to keep himself on the field, he can work into the slot; it could result in him being in the long-term plans for the Chicago Bears.