The Chicago Bears have started out the season at 3-1, which has been rather surprising considering Caleb Williams hasn't played since the third quarter of Week 2. Head coach Ben Johnson has led the team to victories with three different starting quarterbacks this season, but the success hasn't come without its flaws.
The Bears have the worst kickoff return unit in football
Through the first four weeks, the Bears have posted the worst kickoff return rate in the NFL, at only 21.3 yards per return. Not exactly a stat to be proud of.
Kalif Raymond was signed to the Bears as a receiver depth piece, having previously spent time in Ben Johnson's offense when their time in Detroit overlapped. But Raymond had different plans. He's since become one of the most reliable receivers the Bears have, but he's also shown his skills on returns. The thing is, he's only being used on punt returns, not kickoffs.
Rookie Zavion Thomas was selected in the third round as a wide receiver, but his return skills were widely known. Thomas and Josh Blackwell have been splitting kickoff returns, though Thomas has returned twice as many as Blackwell.
The interesting part is that though Blackwell has returned 4 kickoffs for 85 yards, and Thomas has returned 8 kickoffs for 170 yards, both come out to 21.3 yards on average.
When Thomas is expected to be the returner for the Bears of the future, but he's not even earning his own share of the time, it's a problem. But this is a team sport, and the returners alone can't be looked at as the only issue.
A 3-1 team winning with three different quarterbacks can survive a flaw or two, but it cannot keep spotting the league free yards forever. Sunday at Lambeau, against a Packers team that can not buy a first down on its own, the return game has to finally look like it belongs on this roster.
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