The Chicago Bears 2022 season was more of an experiment than anything. The mission was accomplished when they landed the number one overall pick, but the transition in the roster caused a lot of change between now and then.
Who are some players on the Bears that had a chance to be a part of the long-term plan, and now it is hard to see them getting on the field for much of a role?
3. Are the Chicago Bears admitting what Velus Jones is?
When the Chicago Bears drafted Velus Jones the thought was that the team had a serious option at wide receiver. However, the pick was met with a lot of criticism, because Jones did not have the best college career.
A lot of people saw a project of a wideout that was already pretty old. It turns out that the consensus may have been right on this one. It is not a surefire thing that Velus Jones is a complete bust, but fans went from expecting him to be a legitimate threat in the receiving room to just hoping he does not fumble a kickoff next season. That is a steep drop.
The Chicago Bears learned early that he was raw when he could not beat out Equanimeous St. Brown or Dante Pettis for playing time. Then, they traded for Chase Claypool, and his role got smaller. Since then, they traded for D.J. Moore and drafted Tyler Scott.
What makes this so much of an uphill climb for Jones is that he could not even beat out ESB or Pettis last season. Now, there will be Scott, Moore, Claypool, and Mooney ahead of him. He will be competing to be the fifth wide receiver with two guys who have already beat him out for a job.
If you have known anything about the fifth wide receiver, he sees the field for maybe one offensive snap a game on average. That role is reserved for special teams, which may be why Velus Jones makes the roster. However, Pettis and St. Brown bring their own special teams value as well, so even that is not a lock.
If you asked Chicago Bears fans what role Velus Jones would have in his second season, not many would say competing for the fifth wideout spot and hanging onto the roster by a thread. However, that is the case for the former third-round pick, and that is quite a fall from what fans and Ryan Poles thought a year ago at this time.