Chicago Bears should claim wide receiver Kasen Williams

A specific waiver wire target for the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, the Chicago Bears, like the rest of the NFL, put together their first 53-man roster of the season. Teams now only make one cut just prior to the regular season, getting their roster from 90 players to 53 in a flash. This may cause some chaos on Sunday afternoon.

In the blink of an eye, more than 1,000 players became available to NFL teams on Saturday. There are many interesting players available, and I looked at some specific targets for the Bears after a majority of the cuts were announced. However, after I wrote that post, another extremely interesting player became available and he would be a perfect fit for the Chicago Bears.

Kasen Williams has spent the last two seasons on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad. He has appeared in three games for the Seahawks over the last two years, but a huge majority of his time has been spent on the practice squad.

Williams is a former top wide receiver recruit who showed a lot of upside at the University of Washington. That being said, a foot injury in college really put a damper on his draft stock, causing Williams to go completely undrafted in 2015.

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However, two years later and Williams has been the star of the preseason for the Seahawks. He played in all four preseason games for the Seahawks, piling up nine receptions for 208 yards and a touchdown. Williams began his preseason with a bang, posting four receptions for 119 yards in Seattle’s first preseason game.

Williams is a powerful wide receiver who shows good athleticism and a knack for catching the ball in traffic. He does not have the speed to create consistent separation, but Williams makes up for it with his strong hands and fantastic body positioning.

I really do not understand why the Chicago Bears did what they did at the wide receiver position on their original 53-man roster. Kevin White, Markus Wheaton and Kendall Wright were all locks to make the roster. After that, the Bears only kept around Deonte Thompson and Josh Bellamy, two receivers who have special teams value but extremely limited upside at their actual position.

The Bears waived Tanner Gentry, hoping to get him on the practice squad. Gentry showed a lot of promise in training camp and in the preseason, and I would have rather seen the Bears not risk losing him by simply keeping him on the roster. However, what’s done is done.

Now, I think the Bears should shoot for some upside by taking a chance on a receiver like Williams. His offensive upside is legitimate and he even provides some nice special teams value in the kick coverage units.

Williams will be available to be claimed via the waiver wire and the order is based on last year’s record. So, the Bears have the third waiver spot if they decide to make any moves. As long as the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers do not make a claim on Williams, he needs to be on their roster.

They could add him to the mix as a sixth receiver who can contribute on special teams. The Chicago Bears could also move on from Bellamy or Thompson as Williams does provide some special teams value.

Let’s be honest about this situation for a second. The Chicago Bears are not going to win a lot of games during the 2017 season. I do think that they have improved, but they are already dealing with a lot of injuries and have a brutal schedule ahead of them. Why they wouldn’t want to take a shot at some long-term upside on a guy like Williams is beyond me.

Next: Waiver wire targets for Bears after roster cuts

Why they wouldn’t want to take a shot at some long-term upside on a guy like Williams is beyond me. We know what Bellamy and Thompson bring to the table, and aside from their special teams value, it’s not too impressive. Williams may not ever turn into a significant player, but he has certainly shown the ability to do so.

The Chicago Bears are in a perfect position to give him an opportunity to prove himself. Why not give him a chance? They have nothing to lose and a ton to potentially gain.