Chicago Bears: Draft Courtland Sutton, let Cameron Meredith walk?

The case for Meredith

This is where I would normally start by saying one advantage is that Meredith knows the scheme, however with a brand new offense being installed, he is going to have to learn it all from scratch just as Sutton would.

Meredith does boast some advantages, though, that Matt Nagy would like to see in his offense. First, he can separate himself from coverage much better than Sutton does. Maybe it’s because of his experience in the league and having to work so hard in getting to this point, or he could be a natural.

Either way, he can separate himself from his man better than Sutton, which is a huge positive. There is going to be a lot of movement and many options for Mitchell Trubisky in any given play, and if Meredith does his part in giving his quarterback an open target, that’s half the battle.

Meredith doesn’t know the playbook just yet, but he surely has chemistry with his team. The relationships he’s built with the current guys go a long way, and that’s not something to overlook.

In 2016, Meredith got a taste of what it was like to potentially be a number one option as the Bears struggled with injuries at the position. He did very well matched up against opposing teams’ top corners, at times, in the second half of the season.

Meredith has improved his hands quite a bit since entering the league.

Meredith has sneaky athleticism, which is something Sutton will need to gain if he is to have success as a pro. Sutton has had his share of fantastic catches, but in terms of quickness, Meredith has him beat there.