On July 28, the Chicago Bears will report to training camp at Halas Hall with some uncertainty at the wide receiver position. Two years into his four-year deal, Taylor Gabriel was a cap casualty in February, creating $4.5 million in cap space with just $2 million accounting in dead cap. Gabriel, 29, hauled in 96 balls for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns in two seasons but was limited by concussions last year.
He played in nine games — including seven starts — and tallied 353 receiving yards, but he also recorded a 6.3 percent drop rate. In place of Gabriel, the Bears signed free-agent wide receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., to a one-year deal worth nearly $1.2 million. They also added Darnell Mooney out of Tulane via the draft.
The productivity of the receiving corps will solely depend on the play at the quarterback position. Mitchell Trubisky is potentially entering his final season in Chicago, as the Bears declined his fifth-year option. They added Nick Foles as an insurance policy while also applying pressure on Trubisky.
Back in May, Pro Football Focus ranked the receiving corps fifth-worst in the NFL, but they noted the potential Foles has in moving the needle.
Let’s take a look at what the Bears’ quarterbacks have to work in terms of wide receivers heading into training camp.
Allen Robinson
Robinson is likely the best wide receiver the Bears have had since Brandon Marshall. The 26-year-old is entering his final year of a three-year deal and should be a prime candidate for an extension after the season. He got off to a slow start in Chicago, hauling in 55 receptions – the lowest since his rookie year – for 754 yards and four touchdowns.
However, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, Robinson showed why the Bears signed him, recording a franchise record ten receptions for 143 yards and a score. While the game resulted in a loss, it propelled the Penn State product into 2020, as he tallied a career-best 98 receptions along with 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns.
Anthony Miller
The upcoming season is a big year for Anthony Miller, who played exceptionally as a rookie in 2018. Despite suffering multiple separated shoulder injuries, Miller demonstrated why the Bears moved up in the draft to grab him, recording 33 receptions with 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He underwent surgery during the offseason and hoped for double-digit touchdowns. But while his receiving yards increased (656), he hauled in just two touchdowns. However, Miller proved to be consistent, logging the same yards-per-reception and catch rate in his first two years while boosting his yards-per-game average.
The 25-year-old is expected to move into the slot receiver position full-time in 2020 and barring any further injury, he’s due for a big year.
Ted Ginn, Jr.
Ginn’s best days are likely behind him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a contributor on the Bears offense. He insists that his speed remains intact despite being 35 years of age now. Outside of 2018, health hasn’t been a concern for Ginn in his 13-year career. Three years removed from a nearly 800 yards receiving season, Ginn’s targets dropped considerably in New Orleans in the last two seasons, as Drew Brees found a consistent connection with Michael Thomas.
Ginn will be an important piece to help stretch the field, averaging 13.9 yards-per-reception during his career, which is better than anyone else on the Bears’ wide receiving corps. He figures to be the number three receiver at this point in his career, but look for Ginn to be one of the more underrated signings of the offseason.
Cordarrelle Patterson
The Swiss-Army knife of the Bears’ offense, the combination of Patterson’s size and speed make him valuable both as a receiver and lined up in the backfield. He hauled in just 83 yards and rushed for 103 yards in 16 games, including four starts. If I was a betting man, I would put the over on both of those numbers in 2020.
Patterson is entering the final year of a two-year deal, and history proves that he’s better than a 5.2 yards-per-game receiver. Look for the Tennessee product to post around 300 receiving yards with 200 yards on the ground as well. It’s not much, but he has the capability of picking up critical first downs to keep the offense on the field.
Javon Wims
Javon Wims is a bit of an unknown right now. I expected him to have larger role on the offense last year. He may have had the quarterback play not been atrocious. You don’t expect a ton from a seventh-round pick, but Wims put up some gaudy numbers, hauling in 720 yards with seven scores as a senior.
As a freshman in the NFL, Wims played in place of Miller in Week 17 in Minnesota, hauling in four receptions for 32 yards. Last season, he saw time in all 16 games, including six starts, but his production was still held in check. On the year, he tallied 186 receiving yards and a touchdown. Let’s see what he can do in year three.
Riley Ridley
Much like Wims, Riley Ridley had a breakout year at Georgia as an upperclassman, tallying 559 yards with nine touchdowns. The Bears grabbed him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He best game as a rookie came in Week 17 against the Vikings, hauling in three receptions for 54 yards, including a critical fourth and ninth.
Ridley almost scored on the play, but the Bears took the lead for good, leaving Minnesota with an even 8-8 record on the 2019 campaign. And the Bears have big plans for him in 2020:
“I’d say that Riley Ridley is definitely in the Bears’ plans this season,” said receivers’ coach Mike Furrey, via Larry Mayer. “Furrey predicted that “the biggest growth we’re going to see from anybody in our room is going to be Riley Ridley.”
Darnell Mooney
Mooney could end up being one of the most underrated draft picks of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the definition of a playmaker at Tulane, tallying 2,572 receiving yards in four seasons. As a junior, he hauled in 48 receptions for nearly 1,000 yards – 20.7 yards-per-catch – and eight touchdowns.
At 5-foot-11, 174 pounds, Mooney has big-play capabilities, which will be critical for the Bears to stretch the field.
Trevor Davis
Trevor Davis, a former fifth-round pick, spent his first three and a half seasons with the Green Bay Packers before being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last fall. He was later released and claimed by the Miami Dolphins, where he finished out the year. He comes to Chicago with a reputation for speed, another speedy receiver in a room that includes Ginn and Mooney.
Davis hasn’t seen much time in the passing game, contributing primarily on special teams as a kick returner. Although the Bears are already set with kick and punt returners set in Tarik Cohen and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Thomas Ives
Thomas Ives was signed as an undrafted rookie out of Colgate last year, and he spent the entirety of 2019 on the Bears’ practice squad. The Bears signed Ives to a reserve/future contract in December. During his junior year at Colgate, Ives had a team-best 353 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Ives became one of Chicago’s preseason darlings last season, where he led the team in receptions with nine and had 148 receiving yards. While Ives isn’t likely to lock up one of those spots on the 53-man roster, he’s a great candidate for another round on Chicago’s practice squad.
Ahmad Wagner
Ahmad Wagner’s journey to the NFL has been unconventional. Especially considering that he originally elected to play basketball at Iowa before transferring to Kentucky and taking on football. Wagner’s numbers weren’t very impressive — 15 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns in eight games — but Kentucky only threw the ball 252 times last season.
While Wagner probably won’t lock up a spot on the 53-man roster — considering the Bears crowded receivers room — he’s an intriguing prospect that Chicago might want to keep an eye on for the future.
Alex Wesley
As an undrafted rookie out of Northern Colorado, Alex Wesley spent training camp with the New York Giants last season before he was released as part of the team’s final cuts. The Bears signed Wesley to their practice squad in December. While Wesley won’t necessarily earn a spot on the 53-man roster, he could earn a spot on the practice squad.
Reggie Davis
Reggie Davis, an undrafted free agent in 2017, has spent time with five teams over the course of his three-year career. Most recently, Davis spent training camp last season with the Dallas Cowboys before being released. The Bears signed Davis to their practice squad last December, adding a receiver with speed in lieu of an injured Taylor Gabriel.
Davis faces the biggest challenge of making the 53-man roster out of this group of receivers given the fact that he’s undersized. Even making the practice squad feels like a long-shot for Davis.
