5 Wide Receiver Targets for the Chicago Bears

The Bears need a slot wide receiver, and there isn't one available in free agency that will be better than Jakobi Meyers. Through four seasons, Meyers has totaled 2,758 yards as well as eight touchdowns (six of which came this past season) for the Patriots.

Spotrac, a site that compares Meyers to players such as Allen Robinson, Corey Davis, Terry McLaurin, and Jarvis Landry, estimates his market value to be in the neighborhood of $12.5 million. Pro Football Focus is more generous and guesstimates he'll get around $16 million a year.

Production out of the slot was tough to come by for the Bears in 2022. Per PFF, Cole Kmet led all receivers with 216 snaps out of the slot, followed by Darnell Mooney (204) and Dante Pettis (143). The plan for the slot last offseason relied upon free-agent acquisition Byron Pringle. However, injuries hampered his production as he only accounted for 161 total snaps and 44 out of the slot.

It's worth noting that Mooney was the defacto slot receiver before getting hurt (he only played 12 games). Sixty percent of his snaps came from the slot, though his first two years in the league saw him play the majority of his snaps split out wide (55% out wide in 2021 and 79% in 2020). I believe the Bears want to keep Mooney as an outside threat and a player they can move around the line of scrimmage while having more of a pure slot receiver manning that inside receiver spot.

Meyers thrives out of the slot and in New England established himself as the go-to receiver for QB Mac Jones. In 2022, 70 percent of his snaps came from lining up in the slot, a percentage that has consistently grown since his rookie season when he was used only 60 percent from the slot. He's not a small receiver (6-foot-2 and 200 lbs) so he's someone Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy could move around quite a bit to create mismatches against the defense.

Unfortunately (for the Bears), the Patriots will likely make re-signing Meyers priority No. 1 this offseason. They will have close to $32 million in cap room and Meyers is one of the few homegrown wide receiver talents that hasn't busted for New England. He's a versatile weapon for the Patriots, and with Bill O'Brien taking back the reins of OC from rocket scientist Matt Patricia, they're likely going to want to retain Meyers for the long haul.

Mike Evans - Trade

It's no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reached an impasse in regard to their Super Bowl aspirations. With Tom Brady announcing his retirement and the Bucs a whopping $55 million over the cap, it's likely time for Bucs GM Jason Licht to mash the hard reset button and start over from scratch.

Mike Evans has been a key cog in Tampa Bay's offense since 2014, his rookie year. He's never had fewer than 1,000 yards in his nine seasons as a pro and he's proven he has a nose for the end zone with 81 touchdowns to his name.

He's undeniably a No. 1 receiver, although his name is often omitted when discussing the truly elite wide receivers in the NFL. A post-June 1 trade would clear up over $14 million in cap space for the Buccaneers and net them some valuable draft capital in return.

What makes Evans so good? For starters, he runs a complete route tree.  Matt Harmon's reception perception (which charts routes run by both success and percentage) shows that Evans is largely successful when running almost any route he's asked to run (note this is data from 2021 as 2022 hasn't been cataloged yet). His ability to get open in a variety of ways would instantly make him a favorite receiver of Justin Fields.

The Chicago Bears could likely get Evans for a second-round pick. And if the Bears are able to trade back from the No. 1 spot and stockpile picks, it would make sense to offload one of them to the Bucs for a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver with over 10,000 career yards to his name.

However, there are two downsides to an Evans trade. The first is that, curiously, once a receiver hits his age-30 season, his production plummets. Here's a chart of active NFL players and their production since turning 30. This chart represents a combination of ALL the games that player has played since turning 30 and their aggregate production. It's bleak, with only one current player (Julio Jones) amassing over 1,000 total yards since turning the big 3-0.

Also, Evans will likely be looking for a new contract whenever he's shipped out of Tampa Bay. Are the Bears going to want to commit big money to a player whose best years are likely in the rearview mirror?

Tee Higgins - Trade

In a recent article on The Athletic, Paul Dehner speculated the following regarding a Tee Higgins extension with the Bengals.

"If the numbers are outrageous and it’s clear the two sides won’t see eye to eye, the Bengals could go the route taken by multiple teams in recent seasons and deal [Higgins] for a top draft pick and start the cycle over with a rookie receiver."

- Paul Dehner, The Athletic

Dehner cited teams like the Vikings and Titans, who dealt receivers Stefon Diggs and A.J. Brown, respectively, for draft picks. Higgins, like those before him, is entering the last year of his rookie deal and likely wants an extension before suiting up for his contract year.

Tee Higgins is good. Maybe great. He's not a No. 2 wide receiver, he's easily the No. 1B to Ja'Marr Chase's No. 1A in Cincinnati. In the four games that Chase missed with injury, Higgins caught 26 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns (extrapolated to a full season would be 110 catches, 1,576 yards, and eight touchdowns).

In 2021, Higgins led all receivers by CROE (catch rate over expected) which, in layman's terms, means he's made difficult catches at a higher rate than his peers.

Higgins could bring to the Bears what Brown brought to the Eagles: a big-bodied receiver that can soften up the middle of the defense. In 2021, the Eagles were desperately missing a physical receiver that can loosen up zone coverage in the middle of the field. DeVonta Smith excelled as a boundary receiver, but they didn't have someone who could eat up those intermediate routes and grab some yards after the catch. Enter A.J. Brown. 

Tee Higgins would be instrumental in that regard for the Bears. In 2022, Higgins caught 34 of his 87 catches in the short to intermediate center of the field. He accrued 428 yards doing so, with 149 of those coming after the catch.

The Bears were dead last in yards after the catch last year, and adding a guy like Higgins would give Chicago a young (he's only 24), deadly weapon that could grow along with Justin Fields.

The only downside would be the cost to get him. Stefon Diggs cost the Bills the 22nd overall pick while A.J. Brown cost the Eagles the 18th and 101st picks. A baseline for Higgins is likely a mid-first-round pick. That said, if the Bears could get a mid-first-rounder for the No. 1 overall pick, then I could see them flipping that pick for Tee Higgins if the Bengals are entertaining offers. Carolina's ninth pick and the Bears' third-rounder (No. 65 overall) for Higgins and the Bengals' second-round pick (No. 60 overall) could be a realistic possibility.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba - Draft

After his sophomore season at Ohio State, Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked poised to be a top-five draft pick in 2023. He hauled in 95 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns that season for the Buckeyes, and surpassed David Boston's school record for receiving yards thanks to a 2022 Rose Bowl win in which he racked up an FBS Bowl record 347 yards.

Unfortunately, a nagging hamstring injury cost him most of his junior year as he was active for only three games this past season.

Still, he's seen league-wide as a first-round talent. And while several of the earlier mock drafts had him going in the late teens/early 20's, his draft stock has steadily risen with more recent mocks slotting him as early as ninth overall.

The Buckeyes have been a wide receiver factory these past few years with players like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson making immediate impacts for their teams. With some analysts comparing Smith-Njigba (going forward I'll just refer to him as JSN) to CeeDee Lamb and others likening him more to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Keenan Allen, it's no wonder why he is getting a lot of attention despite finishing 2022 with only four receptions.

JSN also fills an important need for the Chicago Bears that I highlighted with Jakobi Meyers: slot receiver. The Bears don't currently have a pure slot receiver on their roster, and with JSN's skill set, he'd slide into that role and make an immediate impact.

However, he too is not without caveats. He did miss the majority of this past season with an injury, so you're hoping that his sophomore season is something he could build off of rather than the peak of his career. He's also considered super athletic by NFL standards and relies more on technique and route running to get open over raw measurables.

JSN is another candidate the Bears could hone in on if they're able to move back a bit in the draft with a team like the Panthers.

Brandon Aiyuk - Trade

In a conversation I had with On Tap Sports Net colleague Quinten Krzysko (whose Senior Bowl observations have been great to read), we discussed the possibility of a Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk trade.

Quinten mentioned Aiyuk and I conceded that I haven't really done much research on him since I felt receivers tend to get overlooked in Kyle Shanahan's scheme. It's tough to know whether Aiyuk is a good receiver or if he's a benefactor of Shanahan's scheme.

A little bit of research went a long way.

Aiyuk, though on the smaller side (only 6-foot-0 and 200 lbs), is able to create space in the middle of the field with excellent route running and coverage awareness. PFF also predicted his breakout, noting "Aiyuk was a separation machine last season...he hauled in over 50% of his contested opportunities and broke 18 tackles on 56 catches. If Samuel is out any length of time over his contract dispute, Aiyuk should have no problem whatsoever filling that role in the offense."

His 2022 stats?   

• 78 receptions
• 1,015 yards
• 8 touchdowns

He's also a phenomenal run blocker, which is something the Bears demand out of their wide receivers. Watch him at the bottom of your screen go upfield and steer Quandre Diggs (No. 6 on Seattle) out of the play for a nice extra chunk of yardage.

One thing Justin Fields displayed this past season was a reliance on trust when it comes to his receivers. The Bears simply didn't have players who could consistently separate, and as a result Fields held onto the ball far too long. A guy like Aiyuk would be the salve to Fields' trust issues — he's demonstrated through his short career an ability to create separation and get open regardless of the quarterback in San Francisco.

Like Higgins, Aiyuk would likely fetch a mid-first-rounder (or even a late first-rounder). However, reports out of San Francisco indicate he's unlikely to even be available. That said, the Niners are another team working with little cap space (only around $8 million), and Aiyuk is entering the latter years of his deal and will want an extension sooner than later. They could be a team looking to replace him with younger, cheaper talent in the draft considering their cap situation.

Conclusion

The Chicago Bears have several avenues through which they can address the hole at wide receiver. Knowing Ryan Poles and his penchant for building through the draft, a guy like Jaxon Smith-Njigba has to be in their sights as they entertain offers for the first overall pick.

The 2023 NFL Draft Combine begins March 3, and things for the Bears will begin to crystallize as prospects move up and down draft boards.

One thing is certain: the Bears can't go into 2023 with the same blunted weapons as they did in 2022. There should (and will) be a concerted effort to surround Justin Fields with talent, and if they do so I expect a similar trajectory out of Fields that we saw from Jalen Hurts as he gears up for a Super Bowl bout against the Chiefs.

Next year should be an exciting one for Bears fans.