Chicago Bears: Ranking the top 10 potential wide receiver targets

The Bears are one of the most wide receiver hungry teams in all of football. Which of the following guys will Chicago decide to bring in?

Following the 2017 season, the Chicago Bears had glaring issues on the offensive side of the ball. It was clear that the majority of their problems came from people not on the field. John Fox needed to go. Dowell Loggains was in the same boat.

The Bears ran one of the most — if not the most — predictable offenses in the NFL over the last two seasons. Fox was promoting bland, boring and quite frankly, unintelligent football. Even running back Jordan Howard told the media following last year that defenses consistently knew what was coming.

While the majority of the blame can be placed on coaching, and rightfully so, the Bears held one of the most unimpressive wide receiver groups in the league. Let’s evaluate here for a moment.

Kevin White may never play football again. If he does, what exactly will he look like? Joshua Bellamy continues to get chance after chance while seemingly dropping a pass when his team needs it the most. Cameron Meredith missed all of last year due to injury, and Chicago is hoping he returns to form as a solid number two type of guy.

Kendall Wright became Mitch Trubisky‘s go-to option down the stretch in his first year with the Bears, but asking him to be more than a satisfactory slot option is out of the question. Dontrelle Inman was worth trading for after the Bears wound up keeping their draft pick in the end. But, is he a true number one option? Again, probably not.

The bottom line is, Ryan Pace needs to address this position more than any other one this offseason. With free agency approaching, cap casualties impending and trade talks looming, he will likely have several suitable options.

Here are the top 10 potential targets for the coming days, ranked in order. It should be noted, also, that these do not include the Bears’ own free agents.

John Brown makes this list out of the sheer belief that he could be a guy to stretch the field like Tyreek Hill did with the Kansas City Chiefs under Matt Nagy and his offensive scheme.

Is Brown at the level Hill is? Absolutely not. But, could he provide a spark once or twice per game? Of course he could.

The 27-year-old veteran broke out in 2015, catching 65 passes for a total of 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Following that campaign, it was believed that Brown would continue to provide that type of contribution. However, that just never happened.

There are a couple of reasons why Brown didn’t get back to that level over the course of the past two years. First of all, the Cardinals have not had a great offensive line during his time there. With that said, it is not the easiest task to get down field in your route when your quarterback doesn’t always have time.

Brown was always a big play threat, and because of that, his opportunities may have been limited due to guys like Carson Palmer not having the type of time in the pocket necessary to get the ball to him.

Secondly, Brown has developed a bit of an injury problem. Brown has struggled with both turf toe and quad issues over the last two seasons, as well as being diagnosed with a sickle cell trait that hurt him much of the 2016 season.

If Brown came in and showed the Bears he was healthy enough to play, I could see Pace taking a chance on him if the price was right. After all, the Bears could absolutely use some of those big plays Brown can provide.

During his time in the NFL, Jordan Matthews has been assured one thing: average, inconsistent  quarterback play. Matthews has spent time catching passes from Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Carson Wentz (his rookie season), Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman.

Before I go any further, obviously Wentz took a gigantic leap in 2017 — don’t butcher me for the “average” label I gave him in his rookie year. I digress.

Back to the point — Matthews has played with a total of six quarterbacks in his 56 games over four years. Still, he has 2,995 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in that timespan.

Matthews may be overlooked during free agency due to the fact that, if you go by the numbers, he himself may even be considered average by some. However, he has not had the luxury of playing with the same quarterback for longer than one season at a time. That hurts, especially when the biggest part of the equation between the two players is chemistry.

Matthews has all the tools to be a very good receiver in this league. His 6’3” frame is ideal for the prototypical number one type of receiver the Bears need. What’s interesting, though, is that Matthews has had a knack for getting a bulk of yardage from the slot.

The only reason I would be nervous if I were the Bears is, like Brown, his recent injuries. In August of 2016, he bruised a bone in his knee and missed the whole preseason. Last year, he fractured his sternum and only played 10 regular season contests.

Matthews would surely be an upgrade for Chicago at this point, and he might even come on the cheap. If for some reason Pace strikes out on some of the top tier guys, Matthews should most definitely get a look.

Out of every player on this list, Terrelle Pryor scares me the most. Two years ago, it was clear he had outstanding talent, catching 77 balls for over 1,000 yards when with the Cleveland Browns. Last year, though, Pryor took a huge step back.

The question here, is, why did he take such a big step in the wrong direction? Was it an attitude problem? Did he not establish the right relationships in the locker room? Was he an inconsistent practice player? It remains to be seen why Pryor fell off in such a way last season, which should be alarming to any team pursuing him.

Still, though, Pryor is only 28 and maintains a big body that young quarterbacks covet to have on the outside. At 6’4″, Pryor is a freak athlete. He’s shown the ability to make the tough catches.

Washington Redskins fans can watch this play over and over again and still wonder, “What the heck happened last year? Where did that guy go?”

Again, it’s a mystery. Maybe Washington wasn’t the right place for him. It happens. Maybe Chicago would be a much better fit, chemistry-wise. Maybe Pryor develops a great relationship right off the bat with both Pace and Nagy.

I don’t know.

What I do know, though, is that if they can somehow get 2016 Pryor in a Bears uniform, the offense would reap enormous dividends.

Here at Da Windy City, we have mentioned Paul Richardson quite a bit over the course of the last month or so. He seems to be a guy that a lot of us feel would fit quite nicely in the Nagy offense.

Like many of the available guys this offseason, Richardson’s biggest question is health. Over the last few seasons, he has missed 17 games, including 15 in the 2015 season due to a torn ACL.

But, also like a couple other guys on this list, Richardson has a knack for the big play.

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Last year was Richardson’s best year as a pro as he caught 44 balls for 703 yards, good for 16 yards per catch. He also caught six touchdowns.

The 25-year-old Colorado product has flashed big-time speed and athleticism ever since entering the league as a second round pick in 2014.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Nagy is going to be looking for the Bears’ version of what he had in Hill with the Chiefs, but the biggest question is who that will be. Obviously, Hill is in a category of his own, with the incredible speed he possesses. But, schematically speaking, Nagy could more than likely find someone who could fill a similar role.

Marqise Lee might be one of the most underrated receivers in all of football. When it comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars, their receiving corps was one of the most underrated in all of football last year, so it makes sense.

Lee, the fifth year pro, has had his fair share of time on the field over the last couple of years due to injuries to guys like Allen Robinson or Allen Hurns — and he’s made the most of it. Last year, he really started to come into his own and turn some heads.

Lee has decent size at exactly 6’0”, but most importantly he knows how to use that size. Watching him play, one of the first things you will notice is the fact that he knows how to use his body to get in position for the catch.

The downside with Lee recently has been with drops. He was tied for the sixth-most in the NFL in 2017 with eight. This is a bit funny, actually, when you consider he is so good at getting in position to make the grab.

In any event, Lee has posted 119 catches for 1,553 yards over his last two seasons, and that’s not even as the true number one guy. With Robinson and Hurns hurt off and on, Lee has been thrown in there with a lot of other guys as well. Jacksonville has mixed it up, especially recently with the emergence of Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole.

If Robinson gets the tag from Jacksonville, expect Lee to enter free agency. If this comes to fruition, I wouldn’t mind Chicago bringing him in on an average deal — maybe even the infamous “prove it” deal Pace loves so much.

This next guy should come with a warning label — just ask Aquib Talib.

But, in the event that Michael Crabtree is cut loose by the Oakland Raiders, he may be a target for the Bears.

It was widely speculated leading up to the John Gruden hire that Crabtree could be a cap casualty in Oakland. Lately, that rumor seems to have died down. But, it still isn’t out of the question.

Though it appears unlikely, if Crabtree is cut, the Bears may make reason to take a flier on him.

It seems like Crabtree has been in the league for 15 years now, in a way. His career began with the San Francisco 49ers in a memorable way, with him holding out as a rookie. He missed five games in his rookie season because of it. The league should have known they would be getting quite the character at that point.

Since then, though, Crabtree has had a nice career. Still just 30 years old, he has a few years left in him and would give the Bears a lethal red zone threat. Each of the last three seasons, he has finished with nine, eight and eight touchdowns respectively. The knack for the end zone has been consistent.

Per Pro Football Reference, Crabtree was the fourth-most targeted receiver inside the 10 last year at 37.9 percent of his team’s total red zone targets. That is pretty telling as to what kind of player he has become as his career has gone on.

If you know the Bears, you know that failing to score touchdowns inside the 20 has been one of the most frustrating parts of watching the team over the last several seasons. If Crabtree were to somehow, some way get into a Bears uniform, that problem would likely fade dramatically.

This guy has been good for plenty of rumors and headlines lately, as the Los Angeles Rams appear to be using their franchise tag elsewhere. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Rams are likely to tag Lamarcus Joyner instead of Watkins.

For a while, it was believed they would tag Watkins. After all, they gave up a second round pick for him last year. Why let him go?

Well, they just might. The Rams have already been one of the busiest teams this offseason and appear to be set to make some more cuts and big-time roster decisions in the near future.

If Watkins is cut, Rapoport also noted the Bears as one of three teams to watch out for to scoop him up.

Watkins is high on this list because of one reason and one reason only: when healthy, he is the most electric player available in free agency and it is not close.

Watkins has everything you need to be a dominant, true number one wide receiver in this league. He measures at 6’1”, 211lbs and not only has the speed, but the strength you’d desire at the position too.

Not to mention, his hands are alright.

I feel like there may be an echo here, but I would like to point out that the only true concern for a guy like Watkins is his injury history. The problem is that Watkins has been unable to fight through nagging injuries — most of them dealing with his feet.

The risk may just end up being worth it, though, because Watkins is still only 24 years old and will turn 25 in June. The youth movement in Chicago could get a huge boost with a signing like Watkins, and Trubisky would get one heck of a playmaker.

I don’t care what your opinion is of Martavis Bryant. The fact of the matter is, he can flat out play the wide receiver position better than the majority of guys in the NFL.

Why doesn’t it necessarily show up on the stat sheet? Just ask his teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the moment.

Bryant has gotten himself into trouble off the field on several occasions, most notably being suspended for the entire 2016 season due to multiple failed drug tests. Last year, after being reinstated, he was seen on social media ripping his teammate, JuJu Smith-Schuster — most likely out of jealousy.

It is true, Smith-Schuster grabbed Steelers fans by the hearts last year and never let go. But, that’s beside the point.

Bryant simply hasn’t been happy as a Steeler. Whether it’s playing in the shadow of Antonio Brown or now having to share targets with yet another guy, it is clear that he will not likely be a Steeler for much longer.

While the Steelers brass has remained steady that they will not trade Bryant, it is getting harder and harder to believe. In fact, I would be shocked if he wasn’t dealt before the start of next season.

Just in case Bears fans immediately reject the idea of Bryant coming to the windy city, let me remind you a couple of things.

He is 26 years old. He is 6’4″. He ran an unofficial 4.34 40-yard dash at the combine — the official time was 4.42. Also, he can do this.

Typically, I am not one to go after guys with character issues. But, there is just something about Bryant that I cannot get over — oh yeah, now I remember. It’s his ridiculous ability to play the wide receiver position.

Pace needs to make moves. He knows he’s on year four with plenty of people looking over his shoulder. Risks are part of the equation on the road to be a successful general manager — just ask Robert Kraft.

If Pace is serious about improving the offense and aggressively changing the look of their wide receivers, a call to the Steelers must be made and it has to be made soon.

It’s not dead yet, folks. It is far from dead.

The talk of Jarvis Landry leaving South Beach are still in full force even after the Miami Dolphins gave him the franchise tag. In recent developments, Ian Rapoport mentioned the Dolphins are open to trading Landry if they get the right offer.

In all actuality, the Dolphins may end up coming out as being pretty slick, here. It felt as though Landry wanted out, and may indeed have been on his way out, before the Dolphins slapped the tag on him.

Instead, it looks as though Miami may get something in return for Landry — well played, Chris Grier.

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last four years, or you just discovered the game of football, let me catch you up to speed.

Landry catches everything.

There you go. That’s all you need to know about him.

Over his first four seasons as a pro, Landry has done something no receiver has ever done before. On November 5th, 2017 Landry broke the record for most catches in a receiver’s first four years in the league. The record was set previously by Anquan Boldin, who had 342 receptions in his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

Here’s the thing — Landry didn’t just break the record, he wound up shattering it. Landry ended the 2017 season with 400 career catches.

You read that right. That’s an average of 100 catches each year to start his career in the pros.

To reiterate my previous point, Landry catches everything. Sometimes, you would think the guy just prefers to catch everything with one hand. It’s remarkable.

If the name Bellamy means anything to you as a Bears fan, you understand how important it is to have someone who can do the very thing they get paid to do — catch the darn ball. Furthermore, if the Dolphins are truly listening to trade offers and willing to make a deal, they better be the first phone call Pace makes when he wakes up Monday morning.

It all started last fall during training camp. It was a sunny day at Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Blake Bortles had tossed a ball toward the end zone with Allen Robinson his intended target.

The ball sailed a bit too far off its course.

Robinson was caught on video, verbally expressing his frustration with the terrible throw. I will paraphrase his words, removing one or two key words.

"“Keep that in bounds!”"

The Jacksonville Jaguars had to have known they had an unhappy camper. Thankfully for one lucky franchise, it looked as though Robinson may wind up wanting out after his contract expired the next year.

Well, that time is now, and there haven’t been any concrete indications that Jacksonville will use the franchise tag or extend a multi-year deal to their number one wideout.

If you’re a Jaguars fan, this doesn’t look promising.

Fortunately, I am likely writing to a large majority of Bears fans. Also good for Bears fans is the fact that Chicago will likely be in the conversation for Robinson’s services if he hits the market.

We all know what Robinson brings to the table. In 2015 and 2016, he combined to catch 153 balls for 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns. The numbers speak for themselves.

Robinson is a big body with phenomenal athleticism. At 24 years old, sporting a 6’3″ frame and the ability to go up and get the ball in tough spots, he would be the most welcomed signing to this offense since Chicago went out and got Brandon Marshall.

This is a match made in heaven if Robinson does indeed hit the open market. Just picture Trubisky under center with Jordan Howard in the backfield, Tarik Cohen creatively sprinkled in somewhere and Robinson lined up outside. I can promise you this: Nagy would have a lot of fun, and so would us fans.

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