Time for Alshon Jeffery to prove his worth
By Dhruv Koul
With the Chicago Bears’ trade of receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets, Alshon Jeffery automatically assumes the role of the Bears’ primary receiver. While he has proven he is a top sidekick receiver in the league, does he have it in him to step up as the go-to guy?
Friday’s news of the Chicago Bears trading wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets no doubt sent shockwaves throughout the NFL.
Marshall, one of the best receivers in the league, leaves Chicago after a tumultuous season where he was often the loudest voice in the locker room (in a bad way), openly criticized his teammates, and even challenged fans to boxing matches on Twitter. Sadly, none of this was surprising coming from him.
Despite this, in his three seasons with the Bears, he put up ridiculous numbers: 279 catches for 3,524 yards and 31 touchdowns. That comes out to an average of 93 catches for almost 1,175 yards and 10 touchdowns per season. And he missed the final three games this season with broken ribs. That’s some serious production that the Bears must now replace.
Alshon Jeffery has been the Bears’ clear-cut number two receiver since he was selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2012 draft – the same year Marshall was brought over from Miami in a trade. He showed flashes of promise in an injury-plagued rookie season, and in 2013, Jeffery ascended to elite status. He made ridiculous catches (seriously, this is a hell of a play) look easy and routinely beat up on hapless cornerbacks who were no match for his astounding “catch radius”.
This past season, while lacking the same “WOW!” factor that he displayed the year prior, Jeffery still performed at a very high level, hauling in 85 passes for 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are huge numbers.
Yet, the question is: While Jeffery is an elite number two receiver, can he replicate those numbers while operating as the Bears’ primary receiver?
I’m not convinced of that as yet. After Marshall went down in Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys, Jeffery became the de facto primary receiver. Over the final three games, he caught 12 passes for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns; though a bulk of that production came in garbage time in a blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. He struggled when having to face opponents’ best defensive backs, as they would usually line up against Marshall. Granted, there were issues with play-calling and quarterback play, but those still are not close to primary receiver numbers. Just based on the eye test, he didn’t look the part.
In Week 16 alone, against the Detroit Lions, Jeffery caught only six of 15 targets. I counted four routine drops during that one game – most egregiously on that 3rd down when Jeffery was wide open on a slant route and dropped it untouched. You can chalk it up to a bad game, but four such drops? Primary receivers just don’t do that.
Marshall took Jeffery under his wing last offseason and showed the rising third-year player at the time how a receiver trains, eats, and takes care of their body. He showed Jeffery what all it takes to be a successful, dominant receiver in this league. While a lot of those lessons bore fruit last season, Jeffery’s play still left much to be desired, especially over the final few games.
Jeffery has proven that he is a terrific number two receiver – quite possibly the best number two in the game. What he hasn’t done, however, is show that he is ready to fill the number one shoes himself. He will be playing for a new contract next season, so there is sure to be plenty of motivation to show he can be the go-to guy. I’m not sure he can do it yet, but this is his chance to prove me and the rest of the skeptics out there wrong. Let’s hope he doesn’t drop the ball.
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Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. The Lions defeated the Bears 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports