Chicago Bears Combine Watch: Christian Kirk puts on a show

There is no doubt the Chicago Bears need a lot of help at wide receiver. Christian Kirk put on one heck of a show at the combine and could be a realistic option in the upcoming draft.

Let’s cut to the chase: The Bears need a receiver. Heck, they need three or four receivers. In a Matt Nagy offense, Chicago will need some guys who are capable of the big play. Christian Kirk could be their guy.

Saturday, Kirk made his presence known at the 2018 NFL Combine. The Texas A&M product had one of the more impressive combines out of all the wideouts, but that was no surprise.

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While many are aware of what Kirk can do in terms of explosive plays, it was his strength and awareness that impressed me most at the combine. Not everybody pays close attention to the bench press, but Kirk blew me away. At just 5’11” he muscled his way to 20 reps of 225 pounds.

His wherewithal during the gauntlet drill was obvious. Kirk caught every ball and made it look not just easy, but natural.

As for the other drills, Kirk performed well even in comparison to current NFL studs. His 40-yard dash went over well, and his 10-yard split was even higher than a guy by the name of Odell Beckham Jr.

Kirk doesn’t have the speed of Tyreek Hill, but he doesn’t necessarily need it for the type of position he would fill on the Bears offense. He is quick, though, make no mistake.

Of course, a 40-yard dash only shows you so much. As for in-game speed, Kirk has that as well.

Kirk is a jack-of-all-trades type of receiver. He’s known for having the frame of a running back while being able to make plays in the open field. Here’s a great example of a great route followed by a showing of that strength I mentioned earlier.

Over his three year career with the Aggies, Kirk accounted for 26 receiving touchdowns and seven return touchdowns between punts and kickoffs. The Bears already have a solid return specialist in Tarik Cohen, but Kirk could give Chicago a lethal one-two punch on special teams. He averaged over 21 yards on punt returns over his collegiate career. That’s outstanding.

With 234 receptions at A&M, he was also heavily targeted and proved he could be a guy who is reliable enough to handle a large workload.

Kirk would be a suitable option for Nagy if they were unable to land a guy like Jarvis Landry and is, in my mind, a better fit than Kendall Wright for the slot. Kirk has a bigger potential for the explosive play and is without a doubt stronger than Wright.

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The combine has been phenomenal thus far in terms of the guys the Bears would like to snag on draft day. Pace has plenty of work to do in his evaluation process as the combine continues, but Kirk should be established as one of his favorites in the end.