Would NFL's Fastest Man Be a Fit for Bears Offense?

John Ross has asked for trade according to an NFL Network report, and it's difficult to see why they wouldn't accomodate him considering he has no contract for next year and has two receptions this year with a young team looking for draft picks.

An NFL Network report saying John Ross has asked the Cincinnati Bengals for a trade should pique the Bears' curiousity.

It should interest any team, considering Ross still owns the record time for the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine of 4.22 seconds.

For the Bears, in particular, it should be of interest if past reports were true. A report by Troy Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com at the 2019 combine said the Bears were a team inquiring about Ross.

A team averaging 6.0 yards per pass attempt like the Bears should be studying any possible way to get more passes downfield. A receiver with 4.22-second speed in the 40 should be considered a possible way to loosen up a defense.

The problem here is Ross has had three previous seasons and part of this year and has shown nothing as a receiver.

The job function remains catching a pass regardless of how much speed anyone has and Ross hasn't performed this most basic role.

Ross has had two decent downfield passers in Andy Dalton and now rookie Joe Burrow and his sum total for a career that started with Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor as his offensive coordinator in 2017 is 51 total receptions. 

This isn't first-round receiver production, second round, even third round.

Just because someone can run fast or even faster than anyone else doesn't mean they necessarily can do it and catch passes or make route adjustments on the fly or hand-battle with a defensive back.

When Ross was coming out for the draft he didn't want to be compared to other fast track athletes who played in the NFL because they turned out by and large to be unproductive. He had made 81 catches for 1,150 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior at Washington, so he felt this didn't apply to him. 

It does.

One knock on "track guys," as they're known in pro football circles, is they seem to come up with all sorts of injuries imaginable.

Ross has done this. He had knee and shoulder injuries that cost him eight games as a rookie, a groin injury, that cost him three games and a sternoclavicular injury that landed him on injured reserve last season.

He played 60% of the snaps in 2018 and that was his high. In 2019 it was 37% and this year 19%.

So for Ross' speed, he hasn't produced enough catches or even enough downs played to warrant any type of salary beyond the league minimum.

If he had so much speed he caused entire defenses to shift his way and made it possible for other receivers to haul in tons of receptions, maybe spending money and a draft pick to acquire Ross would be worthwhile. However, there's no evidence he ever did this in Cincinnati.

A.J. Green abilities were consistently evident in his catch totals until toe and ankle injuries in 2018 and 2019. He didn't need Ross attracting coverage in order go get open.

It is easy to see why teams might have interest when you see Ross has a touchdown catch for every 7.3 receptions, but he goes through far too much dead time between productive plays to make a trade worthwhile.

The Bears already have two players at the Z receiver spot who they don't seem to be able to get enough passes to the way it is, and both have speed.

Ted Ginn Jr. has only six targets and three receptions for 40 yards. Rookie Darnell Mooney has been a pleasant surprise with 18 receptions in 30 targets. His 60% catch mark is high for a Z receiver who is considered a deep threat. Most deep threats would be doing well to make catches in the 50 to 55% range.

The Bears just need to focus on getting more passes in the direction of the receivers they do have who can do the job rather than bringing in unproductive speed players who have high opinions of their own talents.

The cost of signing a player who has a $2.798 million salary this year against the cap isn't a real stumbling point, but the Bears already have one receiver whose contract expires after this season.

Allen Robinson is extremely productive, without a single drop in 65 targets and deserves his money. He finds ways to catch passes Ross couldn't and wouldn't dream of catching.

Before the Bears ever consider trading anything higher than a sixth-round draft pick for Ross, they need to refocus on getting Robinson his cash and then take another look at Ross and say no thanks.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven