It's Official. JP Richardson Is No Longer A Fluke

The Chicago Bears continued their work towards preparing for the 2025 season. That means doing everything possible to separate the camp bodies from the actual players who will occupy the roster. Plenty of big names have had strong starts, including Colston Loveland, D'Andre Swift, and Montez Sweat, among others. However, the true fun of training camp is seeing unexpected names assert themselves. For the first couple of days, the one who kept popping up was JP Richardson.

Fans were mildly aware of him going into this summer. He was an undrafted wide receiver from TCU. While he had a decent career there, he'd never stood out as a go-to guy. Then again, that is hardly a new origin story for eventual good NFL players. The Bears are quickly finding out he may have more to offer than meets the eye. Richardson had some strong first few practices, but people were reluctant to read into it since they weren't in pads. Well, Monday's practice on the 28th was, and he was still doing it.

JP Richardson could be your classic overachieving white receiver.

We've all seen the stereotype play out in the past 20 years: shorter, not overly fast, but smart, instinctive, good hands, and a sharp route-runner. Wes Welker, Danny Edelman, Danny Amendola, Brian Hartline, and Adam Thielen. It is too soon to think JP Richardson is on their level. The point is, he has the skillset necessary to fill that role. Remember, Ben Johnson loves running his offense through the slot receiver position. That spot is tailor-made for what JP Richardson does best. It would explain why he's flashing so much in camp already. He has a long way to go. The Bears' wide receiver position is deeper than in years past. That means he will have to fight hard even to crack the roster, let alone get any playing time.