Chicago Bears: Meredith injury creates opportunity for Tanner Gentry
The Chicago Bears lost wide receiver Cameron Meredith for the season with a torn ACL. Now, undrafted rookie Tanner Gentry will have an opportunity to step up in his absence.
In their preseason Week 3 victory over the Tennessee Titans, the Chicago Bears suffered a loss that will negatively affect them for the entire season. In the first half of Sunday’s game, wide receiver Cameron Meredith suffered a torn ACL that will force him out of action for the entire 2017 season.
After losing Alshon Jeffery in free agency this offseason, Meredith was expected to come in and be the Bears’ number one receiver in 2017. Meredith had a big year last season, piling up 66 receptions for 888 yards and four touchdowns. He is a big and athletic target on the outside, who had massive upside this season. This knee injury is extremely unfortunate and leaves the Bears razor thin at the wide receiver position.
Kevin White will undoubtedly have to step up on the outside. A former seventh-overall selection now is the time for White to emerge as a legitimate playmaker for the Chicago Bears. However, he is not the receiver who we are focusing on today.
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Instead, we will be looking at undrafted rookie Tanner Gentry, who has made a lot of noise at Bears’ camp. As a senior at Wyoming, Gentry caught 72 passes for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was an impressive downfield target in college who showed a strong skill set on the outside.
Similar to Meredith, Gentry is a big and athletic target who can go up and get the ball well. He is not the fastest receiver on the Bears, but he has enough speed to make plays deep. Most importantly, he has consistent hands, great high-point ability and catches the ball in traffic well. Gentry has the upside of an elite red zone option in the NFL.
Now, he is still an undrafted rookie who has a lot of work to do before becoming a major part of the Bears offense. That being said, Meredith’s injury could push Gentry into action sooner than expected. Unless the Bears make add a receiver before the cut down day on Saturday, expect Gentry to make the 53-man roster to start the season. Once that happens, he is one of the most natural outside receivers on the Bears’ roster. He will get an opportunity to prove himself.
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What Gentry does with that opportunity remains to be seen. However, he is a talented target who clearly has a nice rapport with the quarterback of the future, Mitch Trubisky. There is a strong chance that similar to Meredith, Gentry quickly becomes a major undrafted steal for the Chicago Bears at the wide receiver position.