NFL Expert Says Bears Receiving Corps Is Best Nick Foles Has Ever Had

Nick Foles has one of the most remarkable careers in NFL history. He started out as a backup to Michael Vick in 2012. Then in his second year, he took over midseason as the starter, went 8-2, and threw 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions. A year later he missed half the season with a broken collarbone and struggled at times, but still made the playoffs. How was he rewarded? By getting traded to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford. There he endured the worst stretch of his career. Stuck on a largely talentless offense with little imagination, Foles started just 11 games before being benched. He was released in 2016. At that point, the quarterback admitted he came close to retirement. Instead, he accepted an opportunity to become a backup in Kansas City. It was there he revived his career. The next season he accepted the same spot with the Philadelphia Eagles. There, fate would intervene. A knee injury to Carson Wentz thrust Foles into the starting lineup. To the shock of the NFL world, the long thought dead quarterback led the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship.

In 2018, the scenario repeated of sorts.

Foles went back to the bench once Wentz was healthy. Sure enough, injuries struck again. Taking over a 6-7 Eagles team, Foles led them to three-straight wins and back into the playoffs. There they would upset the favored Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in the wild card round. After a loss in New Orleans though, the Cinderella story had reached its end. Foles, wishing for another chance to become a starter, left for Jacksonville. Things started so well. In the opener against Kansas City, he had one of the best throws of the early season with a deep touchdown throw to D.J. Chark. Unfortunately, the hit he absorbed on that play caused him to break his collarbone.

This allowed rookie Gardner Minshew to step in and he promptly stole the hearts of Jaguar fans with some unexpectedly solid play. By the time Foles was ready to return, it was too late. The team lost both of his starts in blowout fashion and he was benched for the rookie. That is what led to him being traded a few months later to the Chicago Bears. The story doesn't end there though. Thrust into a competition with Mitch Trubisky, Foles saw his opportunity to make an impression sabotaged by the arrival of COVID-19. With no minicamps, OTAs, or preseason, the veteran wasn't able to win the job outright. Trubisky started and won the first two games. However, after struggling early against a bad Atlanta Falcons team, head coach Matt Nagy had seen enough. Foles went into the game, shook off some early rust, and fired three TD passes in the 4th quarter to cap a 16-point comeback to win 30-26. What a crazy ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvndFPc2qQw&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=NBCSports

So what should the expectations for Nick Foles be?

There is little debate that the move to Foles was the right one for Chicago. His experience and better grasp of the offense make the Bears an overall better team. Yet it's still difficult to gauge just how far they can go. Longtime insider Peter King spoke with Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk. He explained why it's quite possible Foles has another deep playoff run in him.

"Frank Reich was the offensive coordinator and what happened (is) they deconstructed how they ended up beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Six days afterwards. The reverence that Frank Reich had in that two-hour session with me and those coaches, the reverence for Nick Foles is something that I just remember in his voice. Man, every time just, 'Foles...Foles.' So there is great admiration and respect and there's an acknowledgment that Nick Foles can go on one of these runs again. And Mike? He's got better receivers now in Chicago than he had then in Philadelphia."

That is quite a compliment coming from someone like King. Back in 2017, Foles had the trio of Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, and Torrey Smith to work with. He seems to think Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and emerging rookie Darnell Mooney make for a more dangerous arsenal. A definite show of respect. If it's even remotely true? Then the Bears are indeed poised for a run this season.