2017 NFL Draft: Should Chicago Bears go with receiver early?

The Chicago Bears have plenty of positional needs to address during next week’s 2017 NFL Draft. Is wide-receiver one of them?

As we get closer to the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chiccago Bears seek a fresh start under center. They hope that quarterback Mike Glennon can lead the team into the playoffs, following two consecutive losing seasons under head coach, John Fox.

In order for Glennon to thrive though, he’ll need to have plenty of reliable offensive weapons around him. While the Bears have some promising young players to lean on, such as running back Jordan Howard and wide-out Cameron Meredith, it never hurts to add more.

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Remember: the Bears lost star receiver Alshon Jeffery to the Philadelphia Eagles in free-agency this off season. That’s a huge blow for the team. After all, replacing Jeffery’s on-field production, when healthy, will be a challenging task for Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace.

Signing veteran receivers Kendall Wright and Markus Wheaton this off season is a start. But both players have struggled with inconsistent playing time due to injuries suffered last season.

In addition to Wright and Wheaton, the Bears will be relying heavily on other wide-outs with limited playing experience: Kevin White, Deonte Thompson, and Josh Bellamy.

With plenty of talented wide-receivers available for the Bears to select in this year’s NFL Draft, should they look to draft one early?

Currently, the Bears own the third pick in the draft. Overall, Pace has just seven draft picks to work with.

That is unless he decides to trade the third overall pick. Doing so could potentially land the Bears multiple first round/second round picks, depending on how desperate other teams are in moving up in the first-round.

If that’s the case, the Bears can afford to take a gamble on drafting a promising wide-out early in the draft. High-level talents such as Joe Ross, Mike Williams, and Corey Davis are projected by many to be early round selections.

Of course, the Bears can always just find another hidden gem in the draft’s later rounds. Just look at Jordan Howard, a fifth-round selection out of Indiana.

Unfortunately, with so much uncertainty revolving around the job securities of both Pace and Fox, can they really afford to take that route? Their future with the team likely depends on how well the Bears improve in 2017.

That is why the Bears should set their sight on drafting a wide-out early, if they’re looking to draft one. Selecting a more proven wide-out early over an unknown one later in the draft would pay greater dividends for the team’s immediate future.

Glennon would be working with a rookie wide receiver who could immediately contribute to the Bears’ offense, barring injury. That only helps him out, especially since he’s already working with a cast of unproven, injury-prone receivers up to this point.

Next: Bears do not need to draft a quarterback

The Bears paid a lot of money to sign Glennon this off season. Why not strengthen your investment by giving him as many reliable offensive weapons as possible.

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