Ahmad Wagner's Potential A Matter for Bears to Explore

In terms of raw talent, the Bears have to like what they have in undrafted free agent receiver Ahmad Wagner.

If ever a player could be called raw, it's Wagner. And he certainly does possess unexplored ability.

Wagner never played football until basketball teammate D'Mitrik Trice, a guard starter at Wisconsin, convinced him to go out for it as a senior in high school.

Wagner never played college football until after he played basketball three seasons at Iowa.

And now the Kentucky transfer is in the NFL after 15 career college receptions.

So obviously he needs time to develop.

The twist to all this is Wagner is 6-foot-5 plus and would be the tallest Bears wide receiver since Brandon Marshall. Iowa had called him 6-7 in basketball, but in football he was listed at 6-5. He's the size of many tight ends at 234 pounds. And as a basketball player his best qualities were rebounding and defense, so yes, he can jump.

In Wagner's only high school football season he made All-State in Ohio with 40 receptions for 639 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wagner also can run. He was the anchor for a state champion 4 by 100 relay team in high school.

Now as an undrafted free agent the Bears will have the chance to mold a good all-around athlete who might be of value at some point in the future.

Wagner's sheer physical size devastated defensive backs in the SEC. He drew 12 total defensive pass interference penalties in his two seasons of football. Hence his nickname from Wildcat fans: "Ahmad Flagner."

It wouldn't be a shock if Wagner eventually ended up as a tight end considering he's already over 230 and hasn't even been in their weight program. He could also be a wide receiver from the same mold as Seattle's DK Metcalf, who is actually smaller at 6-4, 229.

The drawback to all of this is it could take quite a while to develop Wagner and he would be unprotected from other teams on the expanded practice squad this year.

Learning all the tricks of route running in the NFL and how to work in the offense is well beyond the immediate grasp for many rookies, let alone one with so little playing experience.

For this reason Wagner would have almost no chance of making the opening day roster.

Keep his name in the back of your mind for future reference.

Ahmad Wagner at a Glance

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 234 pounds

Position: "X" receiver or tight end.

Key Stats: He was targeted 42 times in two college seasons and 23 games and made only 15 catches but drew 12 defensive pass interference penalties.

Roster Chances: 1 on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the most chance.

Likely Outcome: Practice squad player.

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