Depth at Wide Receiver No Bears Issue
Darnell Mooney's signficance in the Bears offense cannot be understated and quarterback Justin Fields knows it.
Even with the presence of DJ Moore and improved knowledge of the offense by Chase Claypool, Mooney is the receiver who knows the offense and knows Fields best.
So it wasn't surprising when Fields said he'd have no problem getting back in sync with Mooney once the fourth-year veteran receiver returned for the start of training camp.
"With Mooney, I feel like I’m already connected with Mooney, so that's fine," Fields said.
It's one of the key connections that makes this the deepest Bears wide receiver corps since possibly 2013, if not ever. In fact, it might even be the best Bears receiver group of all time, although the franchise's past is not exactly rich when it comes to the passing game.
At least it isn't a difficult case to make when Mooney has been over 80 receptions in the past, Claypool had nine TD catches as a rookie and Moore has been one of the league's most consistently dangerous threats despite chasing passes from every guy with an arm who ever came through Charlotte, N.C.
It all depends on how they mesh with Fields.
When Mooney was lost last year to an ankle injury, Fields' passer rating dropped from 86.2 for the first 11 games he started to 82.6 for the last four. His yards per pass attempt dipped from 7.2 the first 11 starts to 6.7 for the final four without Mooney.
It's little wonder Cole Kmet and David Montgomery became Fields' top receivers after the loss of Mooney. Who else would do it?
After Mooney went out, Fields had 69 more targets for his other wide receivers in four games and they caught only 26 for a 37.6% completion ratio.
Now, he has Mooney healthy, Claypool perceived as improved and the biggest addition of all, DJ Moore. It's a deep group.
Those stretches when wide receivers would catch the ball at a rate below 40% of targets should be over. When they report for training camp, wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert anticipates it being much easier this year with a well-defined pecking order to the deep group.
Last year, they had Mooney when training camp began, but none of the receivers knew the offense and for the most part the coaches didn't know the receivers. Since then, Equanimeous St. Brown got a full season of starts, which he never had prior. Dante Pettis knows the offense after a full year and some struggles. Both of the young receivers, Tyler Scott and Velus Jones Jr., are potentially explosive if they can quickly gain experience.
Even that 2013 group of wide receivers with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Earl Bennett didn't have this type of depth at the position pushing them or backing them up.
"I'll see once camp gets here but yeah, we have a more established group, for lack of a better term, based on the guys we have and the guys we acquired," Tolbert said. "It helps a little bit more to be able to say 'OK, we kind of know what these guys are.'
"We don't have to try to search to see who can do what now. We kind of know what they can do and put them in position to make plays so it’s easier that way, for sure."
The Starters
DJ Moore: No. 2, the 6-foot, 210-pound sixth-year veteran acquired in the trade down from No. 1 overall with North Carolina and a true deep threat like the Bears haven't had at the X-receiver position. In four of his five seasons, Moore went for 13.5 yards a catch or longer and is coming off a career-high seven TDs. He averaged 14.3 yards per catch with a team that had a different starting QB every year and sometimes two or three different QBs in the season. The last Bears wide receiver to make at least 25 receptions and average 14.3 or more yards in a season, let alone for his career, was Alshon Jeffery at 15.8 in 2016.
Darnell Mooney: No. 11, comes in posted at 5-11, 173 but appears to have added muscle tone if not weight during his rehab from the ankle surgery. Before his injury against the Jets in Week 12, Mooney wasn't having the greatest season. Although he had easily become Fields' favorite target during an 81-catch 2021 season, Mooney had just 40 catches in 12 games for a 12.3-yard average per catch as the team's No. 1 receiver. The 3.3 catches per game was a career-low, as well, but now he returns to the No. 2 receiver spot he had in his first two seasons when he made 142 catches to equal the output of No. 1 receiver Allen Robinson during 2020-21. Mooney is in need of a new contract to avoid free agency in 2024.
Chase Claypool: No. 10, is 6-foot-4, 238 pounds and looking to re-establish himself as an end zone threat like he was as a rookie in Pittsburgh in 2020 with nine TD catches. He has had just three since his rookie year and none last year in his seven games and three starts with the Bears. Claypool averaged 14.3 yards a reception his first two seasons as a big-play type but last year just 10 yards a catch with the Bears as he adjusted to a new offense and new passer. He had averaged 55.9 yards a game in Pittsburgh for his first two seasons but only 30.1 yards last season with both teams. Like Mooney, he also is up for a new contract.
The Backups
Velus Jones Jr.: No. 12, the 6-foot, 200-pound 2022 third-round draft pick comes off a disappointing rookie year as a receiver with only seven catches for 107 yards, including his only TD catch on a jet sweep. They tried using him as a ball carrier on end arounds and he had nine runs for 103 yards, including a 42-yard TD. Jones did finish third in NFL in kick return average with a 27.6-yard average but failed as a punt returner with problems hanging onto the ball. Yet, they're letting him try this again this training camp. The breakaway speed he flashed on a few runs, pass catches and kick returns convinced coaches he could be a huge big-play threat in the right offense or if he ever learns to field punts.
Equanimeous St. Brown: No. 19, the 6-5, 214-pound former Packers receiver is in his fifth season and last year matched his career high with 21 receptions. He has never had a catch percentage higher than .583 and last year was at .553. He started all but one game after he had only 10 career starts coming into the season but moves into a reserve role with Moore and Claypool added to the roster. St. Brown was one of the most effective blockers on running plays or on pass plays in the league from his position according to PFF.
Dante Pettis: No. 86, has had his jersey number changed from 18 last year. The 6-1, 195-pounder was a low-percentage target with just 46.3% of his targets ending in a reception. He averaged 12.9 yards for 19 catches but his three TD catches was his highest total since his rookie year of 2018 with San Francisco, when he had five. Pettis also emerged the punt returner after Jones failed at it
He made 18 returns for a 9.1-yard average. Pettis also surprised with his ability to block on passes and PFF graded him 11th-best at this.
Tyler Scott: No. 13, the 5-foot-11, 176-pound fourth-round draft pick from Cincinnati averaged 15.7 per catch the last two seasons while making 84 catches, including 14 TDs, as a big-play type. The Bears haven't specifically said where he fits but he has been playing plenty of slot position in OTAs and minicamp.
Nsimba Webster: No. 83, the 5-10, 180-pound fifth-year player from Eastern Washington is in his third Bears season after starting out as a Rams undrafted free agent. He is a slot receiver and Z-receiver who has played in only eight Bears games and made two receptions for 14 yards in three targets last season, the first time he has been targeted on offense. Webster has been a return man on punts and kicks in the past and averaged 7.4 yards on 25 punts for the Rams in 2020.
Daurice Fountain: No. 82, a 6-2, 210-pound former Colts player when Matt Eberflus was coach in Indianapolis over three years and a year in Kansas City when Bears GM Ryan Poles worked in the Chiefs personnel department. He was a fifth-round pick by the Colts in 2018 and has been in only eight NFL games and has two catches for 23 yards on three targets. His most action came in 2020 when he got on the field for 64 offensive plays and 18 special teams reps with the Colts.
Aron Cruickshank: No. 84, a 5-9, 165-pound slot receiver who is an undrafted free agent rookie from Rutgers. He played two years with Wisconsin first and was also a return man. He made 103 catches for 908 yard, an 8.8-yard average, and three TDs. The special teams abilities could give him a chance to stay around on the practice squad if not the roster. As a return man he brought back four kicks for touchdowns, two at Wisconsin and two at Rutgers, and one punt return. He averaged 10 yards on 21 punt returns and 254 yards on 107 kick returns.
Thyrick Pitts: No. 38, a 6-1, 201-pound undrafted free agent from Delaware who made 172 receptions for 2,429 yards and 23 TDs. He had 57 receptions, including 10 for TDs as a senior.
Joe Reed: No. 80, a 6-foot, 224-pound fifth-round draft pick by the Chargers in 2020. He has been with the Chargers but has not done much beyond kick returns. He had 21 of them for a 20.7-yard average. In college at Virginia he had 129 receptions for 1,465 yards and 16 TDs while being an electrifying player on kick return with five TDs and a 28.7-yard average for 106 tries.
2023 Wide Receiver Prospectus
It's safe to expect Fields and Moore to start connecting with regularity even if it does take a game or two but Mooney's presence gives them the established proven threat to get them through this. Claypool is the X-factor who could make all the difference if he also fits into the scheme. The depth is there with four players who could contribute at any time with a variety of skills, not all of it as receivers. Velus Jones Jr. can run the ball from scrimmage and needs to pick up his game as a receiver. Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis contribute system knowledge and other skills like blocking or in Pettis' case punt returns. Scott is intriguing because of the quickness and route running he displayed in off-season work. Combine it all and if Fields can get the ball there, they have the potential to be the deepest Bears receiver corps if not most productive.
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