WR Competition

[Mdbearz]

11 Bellamy, Josh WR 6-0 211 27 3 Louisville
83 Braverman, Daniel WR 5-10 185 23 1 Western Michigan
82 Randle, Rueben WR 6-2 208 25 4 LSU
19 Royal, Eddie WR 5-10 190 30 10 Virginia Tech
14 Thompson, Deonte WR 6-0 205 28 4 Florida
10 Wheaton, Markus WR 5-11 189 26 5 Oregon State
13 White, Kevin WR 6-3 216 24 2 West Virginia
Wright, Kendall WR 5-10 191 27 6 Baylor
81 Meredith, Cameron WR 6-3 207 24 3 Illinois State

So this is our roster as it stands now, of course there is always the chance that a good player can still get picked up.

The ones that are hard to gauge are Kendall Wright, Ruben Randle, and Markus Wheaton. I'm hoping one of those three comes on strong.

If we carry 6 WRs who do you think will stick and have the best year?

My initial thoughts are
Meredith
White
Wright
Randle
Wheaton
Thompson

I'm torn if they will keep Royal, if he is healthy he is a good Vet presence.

 

[Da Coach]

I think Kendall Wright will be a nice surprise

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[dweebs19]

I feel like most of these WRs bring the same skill to the table

 

[1000ftditka!]

Add to that Pace's "Dumpster Dive" into UDFAs....

WR Tanner Gentry (Wyoming)

WR Jhajuan Seales (OK St)

WR Kermit Whitfield (FSU)

and maybe....WR Jamari Staples (Louisville) *Unconfirmed*

Film on the first three looks promising...

 

[satchice]

I think Meredith and Wheaton are your starting outside WRs, Wright is your slot guy, and White is the #4. You keep Braverman and Randle for depth because they have the most upside.

 

[Mdbearz]

I think Meredith and Wheaton are your starting outside WRs, Wright is your slot guy, and White is the #4. You keep Braverman and Randle for depth because they have the most upside.

Wheaton looked to be upcoming but got fewer opportunities as AB took over in Pitt.

I am hoping that White shows something this year and stays healthy, but I have my doubts.

I'm just wondering if there is any chance at all that Royal stays? I think there is enough equal talent on the roster that it allows them to save the money in case a suitable starter comes on the Market.

 

[gallagher]

Gentry is my TC surprise, and with wide open competition I bet he could find a place.

The only WRs I can confidently say will be on the final roster are White and Meredith. Plenty of room for a UDFA to impress.

 

[dabears70]

I think Meredith and Wheaton are your starting outside WRs, Wright is your slot guy, and White is the #4. You keep Braverman and Randle for depth because they have the most upside.

K.White will absolutely be starting with Meredith and i see K.Wright starting in the slot with Wheaton coming in in any 4 WR sets. K.White WILL be our surprise next year.

 

[westcoast bear fanatic]

If White can't stay healthy and start to turn into the guy Pace thought he drafted than the WR core will be a huge weakness this season. I think Wright will be a pleasant surprise and they will put a lot on Meredith's shoulders but the rest of the roster blows without White stepping up.

 

[Mdbearz]

K.White will absolutely be starting with Meredith and i see K.Wright starting in the slot with Wheaton coming in in any 4 WR sets. K.White WILL be our surprise next year.

While we do not have any superstars, I think this group is going to be exciting to see the competition.

Someone will be the #1 even if we do not think that we have a true #1 on the roster.

With 3 New QBs it will be up to the coaches to figure out who gets the starter snaps, and no favorite will be developed yet with the QBs, so it could be a wide open competition.

 

[Bear Pride]

I like our WR corps, myself. Of course, a lot depends on White staying healthy. I really like the Wheaton addition. He gives us something we haven't had, speed on the outside. I think he'll play the slot in 3 WR sets with Meredith and White on the outside. He will play on the outside in two WR sets when we run with a two TE set, imo. His speed on the outside will keep the CB's honest while we attack the middle if the field with Shaheen/Miller and Simms.

I also expect to see Cohen in the slot on 3rd downs granted he pans out as a player. Wright and Randle give the Bears pretty good depth as well. I don't think we'll miss Jeffery as much as people think, imo. Especially since we want to run the ball and run two TE sets a lot as well. I believe Randle can give us a lot of what Jeffery gave us. White still remains the ultimate wildcard, however.

 

[legendxofxlink]

Better than what Cutler had to work with in the beginning.. Probably should've kept Alshon, but maybe Meredith blows the door down this year and a couple other guys step up. I really would like Miller to take snaps outside as well, maybe as an H back too and limit his snaps. Put Sims/Shaheen as starters.

 

[gallagher]

I like our WR corps, myself. Of course, a lot depends on White staying healthy. I really like the Wheaton addition. He gives us something we haven't had, speed on the outside. I think he'll play the slot in 3 WR sets with Meredith and White on the outside. He will play on the outside in two WR sets when we run with a two TE set, imo. His speed on the outside will keep the CB's honest while we attack the middle if the field with Shaheen/Miller and Simms.

I also expect to see Cohen in the slot on 3rd downs granted he pans out as a player. Wright and Randle give the Bears pretty good depth as well. I don't think we'll miss Jeffery as much as people think, imo. Especially since we want to run the ball and run two TE sets a lot as well. I believe Randle can give us a lot of what Jeffery gave us. White still remains the ultimate wildcard, however.

Oh we will miss Jeffrey. When healthy he was arguably top-5 material. With him we could dominate in 2 TE sets. I still think we will be okay on that front, but White - Miller - Shaheen - Meredith is less threatening for sure. Randle doesnt even come into play unless White is hurt, and even then he doesnt bring Jeffrey's talent to the table. Hell, to be perfectly honest I dont even want to rely on him making the final roster.

I am thinking Cohen will be more of a dump off RB on 3rd and long, with the occasional outside run and wheel route thrown in. I am not banking on players approaching their ceiling as rookies, as exciting as it can be to imagine. He'll get touches for sure, and he has the dynamic agility to turn some of those into impressive gains, but I dont see him getting a lot of playing time as a slot receiver at this point.

 

[Teddy KGB]

I think you guys are going down the wrong line of thinking.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bears move to a 2 TE base package this season. In other words, most of the time only 2 WRs will see the field at the same time, and it will be White and Meredith as starters. Shaheen will be one of the TEs and the other will be up for grabs, and they likely will use that TE in a rotation to bring in guys who can catch or block depending on the situation.

This makes sense because right now it appears the TE corps are a stronger group than the WR corps, and also going with a 2 TE set is a good way to also protect the QB, not just against the defense, but also against making mistakes - having TEs in there allow the QB a safety valve in case a play breaks down.

 

[gallagher]

I think you guys are going down the wrong line of thinking.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bears move to a 2 TE base package this season. In other words, most of the time only 2 WRs will see the field at the same time, and it will be White and Meredith as starters. Shaheen will be one of the TEs and the other will be up for grabs, and they likely will use that TE in a rotation to bring in guys who can catch or block depending on the situation.

This makes sense because right now it appears the TE corps are a stronger group than the WR corps, and also going with a 2 TE set is a good way to also protect the QB, not just against the defense, but also against making mistakes - having TEs in there allow the QB a safety valve in case a play breaks down.

2 TE sets are also great to call up play action, especially on first down. We are already a strong running team, so faking a run will give our big targets that extra room to give a good passing window for a solid gain. When our passing attack becomes more than what it looks like on paper, draw plays would also kill out of this set.

Right now I see our depth chart as this:
WR - Meredith, White, Wright, Wheaton, Braverman, Gentry (because he is my TC hero pick). This group is in need of a stand out player
TE - Miller, Shaheen, Sims, Braunecker. This group has a lot of talent when fully healthy.

Add to that that Miller and Shaheen could mix things up by splitting out wide or attacking from the slot, and I see no reason why we dont march our 2 TEs on 75% of downs.

 

[Bear Pride]

Oh we will miss Jeffrey. When healthy he was arguably top-5 material. With him we could dominate in 2 TE sets. I still think we will be okay on that front, but White - Miller - Shaheen - Meredith is less threatening for sure. Randle doesnt even come into play unless White is hurt, and even then he doesnt bring Jeffrey's talent to the table. Hell, to be perfectly honest I dont even want to rely on him making the final roster.

I am thinking Cohen will be more of a dump off RB on 3rd and long, with the occasional outside run and wheel route thrown in. I am not banking on players approaching their ceiling as rookies, as exciting as it can be to imagine. He'll get touches for sure, and he has the dynamic agility to turn some of those into impressive gains, but I dont see him getting a lot of playing time as a slot receiver at this point.

First, I didn't say Cohen would get a lot of snaps as a slot WR. He will get some on 3rd downs. As I said, Wheaton/Wright will be our primary slot receivers. I see Howard staying in on 3rd downs primarily because the Bears will run a play action offense. Howard will be much more effective with that on 3rd down, imo. Cohen can be much more effective running screens and reverses, etc. on 3rd downs out of the slot, imo.

As far as Jeffery, let's remember he has missed 11 games in the last two years. Meredith had more receptions, yardage, and TD's than Jeffery last year. Meredith can pretty much replace what Jerffey brought to the table with Randle backing him up in a similar style. And as I said, we won't miss Jeffery as much as people think.

If White get's hurt, Wheaton will take his speed to the outside, that would leave it more open for guys like Wright and Cohen to get some touches in the slot.

 

[Bear Pride]

I think you guys are going down the wrong line of thinking.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bears move to a 2 TE base package this season. In other words, most of the time only 2 WRs will see the field at the same time, and it will be White and Meredith as starters. Shaheen will be one of the TEs and the other will be up for grabs, and they likely will use that TE in a rotation to bring in guys who can catch or block depending on the situation.

This makes sense because right now it appears the TE corps are a stronger group than the WR corps, and also going with a 2 TE set is a good way to also protect the QB, not just against the defense, but also against making mistakes - having TEs in there allow the QB a safety valve in case a play breaks down.

I agree, and noone said differently. However, it depends on the team we are playing. The Bears would love to play a two TE set all the time, but that's not realistic. They will switch between a two TE set and a 3 WR set as their base depending on personnel and matchups.

I think the Bears 3rd down package will have an emphasis on the slot. They very well could mix in a 4 WR set depending on the matchups as well. The key is flexibility, imo.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

If Randle can get his head out of his ass he has talent. He did go for 938 yards in 2014. From what I've read though he's a head case so he may be running out of chances.

 

[Bear Pride]

If Randle can get his head out of his ass he has talent. He did go for 938 yards in 2014. From what I've read though he's a head case so he may be running out of chances.

Very true. He can go up and get the ball if he does, however. Look at his last two seasons he played:

Year

	Team	G	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD	20+	40+	1st
2014	New York Giants	16	13	71	938	13.2	49	3	12	2	48
2015	New York Giants	16	16	57	797	14.0	72	8	13	5	35

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Very true. He can go up and get the ball if he does, however. Look at his last two seasons he played:

Year

	Team	G	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD	20+	40+	1st
2014	New York Giants	16	13	71	938	13.2	49	3	12	2	48
2015	New York Giants	16	16	57	797	14.0	72	8	13	5	35

"Embarrassment," Kempski tweeted. "Barely ran routes. Didn't block. QBs can't possibly want him on the field." It sounds a lot like the Randle who irked coach Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning in New York, ultimately leading to the Giants letting him walk as a free agent in March. Randle played 28 offensive snaps Thursday, catching 1-of-3 targets for a measly three yards. Randle has proven to be one of the most effort-lacking players in the league since entering it.

Sounds like your classic case of a guy with talent but no heart. Doubt he can find that. But this this may be his last chance in the league so maybe the pressure gets it out of him. Certainly not expecting it to happen though.