The Chicago Bears reported to Halas Hall on Tuesday to begin training camp for the 2023 season. Finishing the 2022 season as the worst team in the NFL, the Bears' general manager Ryan Poles made significant upgrades at several of the offensive position, including at the wide receiver position. With the addition of perennial 1,000 yard pass-catcher in DJ Moore and the drafting of Cincinnati's deep-threat in Tyler Scott, Chicago will feature one of their most diverse group of players at the wide receiver position in over a decade and a half.
Chicago Has An Important Mix of Size, Speed, and Traits at the Wide Receiver Position
When the Poles traded the first overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers back on March 10th of this year, one of the key pieces Chicago was given in return for the selection was Moore, who has recorded over 5,200 receiving yards in a young five-year career. With the acquisition of the Panthers' best pass-catcher, the Bears now have a true number one wide receiver, a type of player they have been missing since Allen Robinson was health during the 2020 season.
Moore's presence gives Chicago a wide receiver capable of catching all types of throws from the quarterback and has an ability to gain separation, regardless of defensive coverage being assigned to him. The new pass-catcher gives third-year quarterback Justin Fields a true threat in the passing game who can consistently make game-changing plays. With the addition of Moore, fourth year wide-receiver Darnell Mooney is expected to also benefit as he will see less defensive coverage compared to last year as he was Chicago's lone receiver on the roster with a 1,000-yard season in his career.
Mooney and Moore give the Bears' one of the league's better pair of starting wide receivers as both have proven to be talented enough to consistently generated 100-yards receiving games. They will be joined by Chase Claypool, who was acquired by Poles at the trade deadline last season but struggled to produce due to issues with getting acclimated to the offensive playbook while dealing with injuries. Despite recovering from a knee injury this offseason, Claypool spent the offseason working out with Fields and other Bears' receivers to get more familiar with the offense and appears ready to have a productive 2023 season.
Moore, Mooney, and Claypool are slated to Chicago's top three receivers as second-year pass-catcher Velus Jones Jr, along with Scott, are expected to be the fourth and fifth receivers on the depth chart. where the top three receivers provide experience, talent, and size as all three have recorded multiple 100-yard receiving games, Jones and Scott provide a specialty of speed and capability of being significant downfield threats.
The mix of size and speed, along with depth matters immensely as the wide receiver position for Chicago was one of the weakest in the league last season. Fields' lone credible threat at the position was Mooney, who struggled to start the season, and was lost in Week 12 against the Jets after suffering a season-ending knee injury. Claypool and Jones battled consistency issues as never really made a constant and impactful difference in the passing offense. Moore provides a legitimate and constant threat in the passing offense, while Scott can develop into a difference maker due to his route-running ability, which he was praised for during the draft.
Prior Bears Teams Have Lacked Diversity at the Wide Receiver Position Before Which In Turn Became A Weakness For The Offense
Over the past 20 years, Bears' teams have failed to have a balanced mix at the wide receiver position when it came to size, speed, and specialty traits. There have been seasons in which Chicago lacked a credible threat at the position, seasons where they did not feature a deep-threat pass-catcher, and seasons where they didn't have a receiver over six feet tall. All of these imbalances led to creating issues for the offense during those specific seasons.
In 2008 and 2017, The Bears were without talent at the wide receiver position as the offense featured Rashied Davis and Devin Hester as the team's starters, while in 2017, Chicago featured undrafted pass-catchers Tre McBride and Tanner Gentry as starters in a game against the Baltimore Ravens. In both seasons, Chicago's passing offense struggled significantly as there was only one wide receiver who recorded a 100-yard receiving game in either year.
When the Bears acquired quarterback Jay Cutler in 2009, one of the main issues he had with the offense was that were no receivers that had size as the pass-catchers Chicago had were under six feet tall and had little ability to win in 50/50 throws. From 2009 to 2011, the Bears offense only featured Roy Williams, Devin Aromashodu, Sam Hurd as wide receivers with large catch-radiuses and who's size allowed them to win contested throws. Cutler struggled at times as he made several throws that were intercepted because Chicago's undersized pass-catchers were unable to gain separation or win contested throws against defenders.
In 2012, Chicago would acquire All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall via trade from the Miami Dolphins, finally given the Bears' offense a legitimate pass-catching threat. Along with the drafting of Alshon Jeffery and the development of Earl Bennett, Cutler and the Bears' offense had reliable receivers who could consistently haul in passes and win contested throws, but their weakness was their speed. Chicago's offense from 2013 to 2015, didn't have a downfield threat that they had a few years before in Johnny Knox. Although Cutler and the receivers had moments of success, there were times the passing offense lacked explosiveness.
The difference between the talent level at the wide receiver position from last year to this year is massive for the Bears heading into training camp. Instead of Fields throwing to the likes of N'keal Harry, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Dante Pettis, he will now have a chance to consistently throw to proven and more experienced pass-catchers. Moore, Mooney, and Claypool give the Bears' young quarterback a variety of weapons, and with Jones and Scott, he has deep-threats that can stretch the field due to defensive coverage being tied to the other receivers.
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