Chicago Bears Wide Receiver Battle Has Unexpected Situation Emerging

One thing about training camp to remember? It's unpredictable. The Chicago Bears wide receiver position may be showing us why. Coming into this offseason, most people felt they had the top three targets for Mitch Trubisky pretty much pegged. It was Allen Robinson on one side, Taylor Gabriel on the other, and Anthony Miller in the slot. The trio did good work in their first season today. Robinson was a stud. Gabriel was big on 3rd down and Miller scored the most TDs with seven.

Expectations are high for them. However, one thing to remember in the NFL? It's that nothing is given. Everything is earned. Last year was last year as head coach Matt Nagy likes to put it. The Bears went 12-4 and made the playoffs but failed to get beyond the wild card round. The offense put up just 15 points. That is not good enough. So if the coaches feel like tweaking the depth chart is necessary, they will.

One way they may try to do that is getting somebody else involved at wide receiver. Somebody who is working hard for an opportunity. His name is Javon Wims. The former 7th round pick out of Georgia had an outstanding preseason last year but barely played in the regular season. According to Adam Jahn of The Athletic, he's been impossible to miss in training camp. So much so that he's outperforming the more established Miller.

"Wims, a seventh-round pick last year, wasn’t good enough to surpass Anthony Miller, a second-round selection, in the Bears’ lineup during their rookie seasons. But he looked like the better player on Thursday.

It’s only one day. But I haven’t seen much written on Miller, either. He is returning from offseason shoulder surgery, and that could be a factor in his slow start. But at this point last year, there were stories highlighting Miller’s savvy route-running and big plays in camp.

In general, Trubisky clearly has a rapport with Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, but something seems off with Miller. There is time for Trubisky and Miller to work on it, but Wims also appears to be emerging quickly."

Wims has full blessing in Chicago Bears wide receiver battle

Don't think for a second that the coaches aren't aware of this. They've said as far back as the minicamps that Wims was really starting to stand out. They have encouraged his development throughout the process. Given how Nagy likes to encourage competition, there is no reason to think he'd try holding the second-year receiver down out of favoritism. The worst thing a team can do is establish a hierarchy where nobody on the bottom of a roster ever gets a chance.

Outside of Robinson at this point, the Bears can't say they have anybody who is a got-to-start them caliber. Gabriel and Miller are both good and deserve to play, but not enough to where snaps must be allocated to them. Wims brings something to the table they can't, and that's size. His 6'3 frame would be a welcome target for Trubisky. Especially if his route running has improved as some have claimed.

This doesn't mean Miller will suddenly be bad. There is every reason to think he can still be a stud in this offense. Even so, his slow start to camp is something that bears watching. If it continues, the team has every reason to give Wims his shot to play.