Are Georgia Receivers Already on the Bubble?
A potential roster battle is brewing for what could be one spot on the Bears wide receiver corps.
Then again, it might be a battle with no winner and the end result could be something unusual, like Darnell Mooney learning the X-receiver position that Allen Robinson plays.
Coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace this offseason both made a point of how much competition they've created on offense, Nagy emphasizing it again during the start of on-field practices.
"Everybody that comes in for wide receiver, it's going to be awesome to see the competition," Nagy said.
There are 13 receivers but only Robinson and Mooney really have the comfort of knowing their positions are secure.
Trouble for Javon Wims, Riley Ridley
It's going to make for interesting camp competition but for both former Georgia receivers on the Bears roster it could be the worst possible scenario. Much depends on what coaches decide they like. If they go with the best six or seven receivers regardless of position, it could mean trouble for both Riley Ridley and Javon Wims.
Much like at tight end, the wide receiver spot is specialized in this offense and this could be a factor in determining who ultimately makes the roster.
The Bears added two challengers for Anthony Miller's job who are highly skilled in Damiere Byrd and Dazz Newsome, with Marquise Goodwin also capable of playing there but more of a fit outside at Z-receiver on the outside.
However, none of these receivers can be a real X-receiver backup to Robinson. They're too short, not the 50-50 ball threat like Robinson is or Ridley was supposed to be.
Wims is ideal size for an X, at 6-foot-2, 221 pounds. His first two years looked promising, considering he came in as a seventh-round pick. He had been the most productive player chosen by the Bears in the last two rounds under Pace with 22 catches for 218 yards and a touchdown in six starts and 20 games over his first two years.
Then came last season, and two plays in particular. One was the fight he had with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the regular-season overtime loss to New Orleans. The other was also against the Saints, but this was a dropped pass in the playoffs on Mitchell Trubisky's spot-on throw ending a flea-flicker. It went right through Wims' hands and would have given the Bears a lead.
That game ended a disappointing six-catch, 48-yard season for Wims. He went from playing 46% of snaps on offense in 2019 to 28% last year and has begun to make a slightly bigger impact on special teams in coverage but still needs to do more. He played only 13% of special teams snaps.
Ridley's career so far has been an utter disappointment. He went from only five games and 108 snaps as a fourth-round pick in 2019 to five games and 41 snaps in 2020. He has started one game with 10 career catches for 108 yards. He has been on the field for only 17 special teams plays.
So with neither of these two making a big mark as X-receiver backups, the competition for that role should be looking to knock them off the roster. While Pace brought in viable slot and Z-receiver candidates, there are no real intriguing X-receiver challengers for either of those two Georgia backups.
Long-shot Bears X-receiver options
Actually, the contribution made in practices at Halas Hall with the scout team by Thomas Ives from suburban Hinsdale Central High is nearly as significant as what it's been from Ridley, if not Wims. Ives is 6-4, 218 and has great leaping ability. The former Colgate receiver made 53 catches for 865 yards and nine TDs in college. He's been on the Bears practice squad for two seasons.
One player added is Chris Lacy, the former Lions player who had initially been a Patriots undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State. Lacy had only two starts, eight games and three catches for the Lions in two seasons. The Cowboys put the former Oklahoma State player on the practice squad last year after he hadn't made Detroit's roster. For a taller player, he ran a nice 4.51 40 time with a 33 1/2-inch vertical leap in college.
The other player is Jester Weah, the Pitt grad who is 6-3, 209 and was on Washington's practice squad. He has played in one NFL game. Weah made 77 receptions for a very healthy 20.3-yard average and was a real red-zone threat with 14 TDs. He's been out of college ball since 2017, though, and has never made an impact.
Weah might be best known because his uncle, George, was a former soccer star as the FIFA World Player of the Year. He later was elected president of Liberia.
What about Darnell Mooney?
With that grouping as potential X-receivers, it wouldn't be shocking if the Bears simply took the best six wide receivers for the roster regardless of position, then put a strong emphasis on Mooney learning the X-receiver spot to replace Robinson if he suffered an injury.
Mooney last year displayed the kind of route-running ability a good X-receiver needs. His weight is just 176 pounds, which makes it unlikely he could take the pounding an X-receiver often endures with routes over the middle. Mooney did hold up to this beating last year at his own position at times.
Until the Bears get a long-term contract to Allen Robinson, there will be much speculation about what they intend to do with his position in the future.
The current year is a more pressing matter and behind him on the depth chart it's anyone's guess what the Bears will do.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
