Bears WR Breakdown [#1 Need]

Heading into last off-season one of the biggest weaknesses on the Bears was the WR play. Heading into this off-season the Bears biggest weakness is again the WR position. The position has been underwhelming and has not allowed the Bears to get the most our of a franchise caliber QB in Jay Cutler.

Present Roster

Roy Williams

Came in with big expectations, fueled by Martz and Angelo, and has done everything in his power to disappoint. From doing nothing for the first few weeks of the season to the key drops culminating with a goal line drop where he gave us the quote of the year "the big brown thing".

Grade: F
2012 Outlook: Gone and Good Riddance

Devin Hester

Again proved that he is not an NFL receiver as he provided little to the offense. Hester is still a lethal kick returner, but poor routes, drops and a lack of big plays have limited his ability to help Jay Cutler. It is time for Jerry Angelo and the Bears admit that they failed to turn Hester into a NFL WR.

Grade: D
2012 Outlook: Full Time Returner and #5 WR [5-7 plays]

Earl Bennett

Bennett's season was ruined by injury to a degree, but he showed more than enough chemistry with Jay Cutler and the ability to convert 3rd downs. Bennett's value to the team will only be increased when true receivers are working on the outside. Bennett was rewarded with a contract to stay with the Bears and his chemistry with Cutler makes him worth the money.

Grade: B [Injuries]
2012 Outlook: #3 Slot WR.

Johnny Knox

Knox confirmed what he is this season, which is a #4 WR and a kick returning deep threat. Knox continues to run poor routes, just ask Cutler's thumb, have too many drops. Knox is also held back by the fact that he cannot run the entire route tree as Knox's effectiveness on slants and crossing routes disappears. Knox is now dealing with a back injury that could make him even more hesitant to go across the middle. Knox does have some big play ability.

Grade: C
2012 Outlook: #4 WR Deep Threat [10-15 plays a game], #2 Returner

Dane Sanzenbacher

Sanzenbacher was a nice story coming out of training camp and the Sanzenwaddle references were fun, but since that time and early in the season he has been inconsistent. Sanzenbacher at one point before he was lost on the bench lead the NFL in drops. If he cannot consistently catch the ball he provides very little as he has no size or speed.

Grade: C-
2012 Outlook: Gone

Sam Hurd

I saved the best for last. Hurd was a valuable special teams player and showed enough as a receiver to be brought back because of his 6'3" size. That was before he embarrassed the team by being arrested on federal drug charges. I know that Angelo could not really be expected to know that this was going on, but it still was more embarrassing to the team than Roy's quotes. Add this to a list of Angelo 2012 failures.

Grade: F
2012 Outlook: Witness Protection

Moving into 2012

The Bears move int the off-season with the following depth chart.

1.
2.
3. Earl Bennet
4. Johnny Knox
5. Devin Hester
6.

The Bears need a #1 WR and a #2 WR and a big bodied WR that can play on special teams.

This means that they will need to both use the draft and free agency to address the position. What concerns me about this is that if Jerry Angelo is around he has proven to be an incompetent evaluator of WR talent and it may be a risk.

Free Agent WRs

1. Vincent Jackson, Franchised or Resigned
2. Dwayne Bowe, Franchised or Resigned
3. Mike Wallace, Restricted and Will get a 1st and 3rd tender.
4. Marques Colston, Injuries
5. Stevie Johnson, Franchised or Resigned
6. DeSean Jackson, Size and Attitude Problems
7. Reggie Wayne, Age and Injuries
8. Pierre Garcon, solid #2 WR.
9. Mario Manningham, solid #2 with good hands.
10.Wes Welker, a slot guy with NO size.

Draft WRs

1. Justin Blackmon [Oklahoma St] 6'1" 210lbs.
2. Michael Floyd [Notre Dame] 6'3" 225lbs.
3. Kendall Wright [Baylor] 5'10" 200lbs.
4. Alshon Jeffery [South Carolina] 6'4" 232lbs.
5. Dwight Jones [North Carolina] 6'4" 225lbs.
6. Marvin McNutt [Iowa] 6'2" 215lbs.
7. Tommy Streeter [Miami] 6'5" 215lbs.
8. Ruben Randle [LSU] 6'3" 220lbs.
9. Nick Toon [Wisconsin] 6'2" 220lbs.
10. Jordan White [Central Michigan] 6' 215lbs.

if ja wants to really make things right he gets a blockbuster in FA or does a blockbuster trade to get blackmon

And I think bennett is a legit number two but fully agree about knox

Im not 100% sold jeffry and floyd will be the impacts people make them out to be. I think allot about floyd is from an abundance of nd homers.

bottom line if we draft mcnutt im getting his jersey lol

btw you forgot sanz on that list

we cannot afford to trade up to get blackmon; to many other holes. But floyd would be nice. Get garcion and manningham as far as i'm concerned.

Here's the WR's they should keep going into next season imo..

Bennett
Knox
Sanzenbacher

Hopefully Hester will be placed back at the KR/PR position full time. Sanzenbacher made an impact early, and he made a few mistakes... he's an undrafted rookie free agent. He needs time to develop. Bears would be so stupid if they let him go.

I would like to see a big free agent WR acquisition and a first round draft pick spent on a wide out to solve the WR problem... or an attempt at it anyway.

My hope is that we can sign a #1 WR [Jackson, Bowe, Colston] or a #2 WR [Garcon, Manninham] which will allow us to be more creative in the draft.

My fear is that we go into the draft without an established WR pick up and we have to act desperate to fill a need.

Give me

Vincent Jackson
Kendal Wright

or

Michael Floyd
Pierre Garcon

Either way I am happy and the Bears are upgraded.

my fear is JA does his classic bargain bin stuff and think he could get Wayne cheaper cause he is old. That is typical Angelo. non typcal Angelo is giving a blockbuster contract to an offensive player instead of defensive.

we also got to see who our OC is next season to see which WR makes most sense.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by motownbear

my fear is JA does his classic bargain bin stuff and think he could get Wayne cheaper cause he is old. That is typical Angelo. non typcal Angelo is giving a blockbuster contract to an offensive player instead of defensive.

we also got to see who our OC is next season to see which WR makes most sense.

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In a perfect world Angelo is gone.

I also think is he stays his back will be so far against the wall he is going to need to do something big in free agency to save his job moving forward.

Remember last time we were up against the wall we got Julius Peppers.

and the key think there is he play defense not offense lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by motownbear

and the key think there is he play defense not offense lol

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I know but things are so obvious and pathetic at the WR position I do not think even Angelo can ignore the situation.

I think you have summarized it pretty well, Windy.

Hester is not a true wideout and that experiment has failed for far too long due the organization's stuuborn refusal to accept reality. Knox is much of the same. He is a utility WR and backup return man at best, and even that hinges for the future on whether he recovers well from his injury. Both of these guys haven't developed as route-runners despite their speed and suffer from inability/unwillingness to make contested catches and too many drops even when open.

Sanz is on the bubble IMO. I'd give him a shot in PS next year. If he can recover his early form, he might have some value as a #6 man. If not, then he has to go. Since he doesn't play ST and lacks size or speed, there's no point keeping him around if he can't consistently make underneath plays. I had hoped that he was going to become one of those guys who gets ignored by the defense and could be counted on to pick up 5-10 yards on 2nd/3rd and long. For some reason, he fell apart after a promising start.

Nothing needs to be said about Roy Williams and Sam Hurd--they both are well deserved failures. The Bears foolish and misplaced faith in Knox and Hester led us to this point--there hasn't been much effort made to stock and develop quality WRs for the future. I have no problem with Bennett starting as a #2 if we get a playmaker opposite him (the Bennett-Cutler duo basically won the Philly game on their own with some help from Forte).

I don't see how the #1 priority in FA CAN'T BE A TRUE STARTING-QUALITY WIDEOUT since...
...trading up for Blackmon would be too costly and risky
...no rookie beyond the top-10 is likely to meet the need and
...we will need to use the 1st round pick on an OT as there is no one in FA who can instantly upgrade Webb.

FA:
Vincent Jackson may be sign-able. Colston probably will be given the other major FA re-signings NO has to attend to. (little chance for Bowe). Colston not only is more likely to be available but he would also be a valueable takeaway from a major conference rival. I'd put Garcon, Wayne, and Manningham in the 2nd tier here by far.

Draft:
IMO the 2nd round pick should be reserved for BPA @ WR (taking OT with 1st round). Blackmon, Jeffery, and Floyd will be gone for sure in the top-20. I'd take Kendall Wright in a heartbeat but I doubt he would last to #46 or so where we will be picking. Dwight Jones (preferred) or maybe McNutt could fill the bill as a non-starting contributor to develop.

My only concern with your "Floyd (1st) -- Garcon (FA)" combo is where are we gonna get a Webb-upgrade outta the box for OT?