NFC North wide receiver power rankings: Detroit Lions top the division
By Ash Thompson
The Chicago Bears wide receivers
The Chicago Bears sunk a lot of capital into improving their receivers. In 2017 they gave their rookie quarterback nothing but has been washouts from other teams, and a pack of never was also-rans to back them up. During the 2018 offseason, Bears GM Ryan Pace decided to rectify that situation. Their 2018 group leaves much to be desired.
First on the docket was free agency. The Bears signed Allen Robinson to a three year $42 million deal. Robinson is a 24-year-old with at least one season of top ten wide receiver production under his belt. In 2015, Robinson logged 1400 yards on 80 catches with 14 touchdowns. That performance was helped by the fact that the Jaguars were a terrible team constantly playing from behind.
The Jags became more competitive in 2016, though they still lost most of their games. Robinson’s production waned drastically. In 2016 he still caught 73 balls, but for a mere 883 yards and only six touchdowns. Robinson followed up that down year by tearing his ACL in week one of the 2017 season. Blake Bortles suddenly looked like a decent quarterback. Is that a coincidence? Perhaps it is. The contract is structured in a manner that it is essentially a one year deal with team options for two more seasons. The Bears are banking on him being their number one target. They will probably be behind and throwing in a lot of games in 2018. That could help Robinson stay overpaid for years to come.
Pace also signed Taylor Gabriel. In four seasons with two different teams, Gabriel has never topped 629 yards, 37 catches, or six touchdowns. For some reason, the Bears decided that production justified a four year $26 million contract. That’s a lot of money for a gadget player. Gabriel is 5’8″ and 165 lbs. He has not missed much time with injury, only six games in four years. At his size, however, it is inevitable that any greater level of usage than he has seen would result in more missed time. When Pace is fired, as all GMs eventually are, this may be pointed at as one of the reasons why.
In the draft, Pace picked up another wide receiver. Anthony Miller went to Chicago in round two. The Memphis product was ludicrously productive in college. He averaged 1400 yards and 16 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons. He is short at 5’11” and small at 190lbs. Miller may need a year or two to transition to the outside receiver role he will be forced into because Gabriel can only effectively play in the slot. He looks good as a long-term prospect, but in 2018 he is their number four receiver until injury issues make him the number two.
Kevin White is the poster child for why you don’t draft receivers that can’t catch, get off press coverage or run effective patterns no matter how big and fast they are. When he has played he has been unimpressive. For the third consecutive season reports coming out of Chicago say that White looks great in shorts. When he plays five games in a season he may be worth talking about. So far in his career, he has been healthy enough to dress for five of a possible 48 games. In those five games, he has made no significant impact. He has broken three different bones in three consecutive seasons.
The Chicago Bears have the number three wider receiver group in the NFC North.