Bear Digest

A Close Call at Receiver for Bears

If reports about Bears interest in three receivers have merit, it's a close call on which one should be a target at the outset of free agency

Gene Chamberlain

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The trickle of limited information coming from the pre-free agency period produced a few reports Sunday about possible Bears interest during Monday's legal tampering period.

Neither was exactly the definition of solid, sourced reporting.

Wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster was reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler to be a player of interest for the Bears. Fowler said the Steelers receiver will be pursued by his own team, but also the Eagles, Chiefs Jaguars and Bears "...could be involved come Monday's tampering period."

The other report was a tweet by Johnny Venerable, a podcaster who covers the Arizona Cardinals. It claimed the Bears had been interested in Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk for a few weeks.

Teams are not allowed to negotiate with players' agents until Monday at 11 a.m. but word gets out, normally through agents, about interest.

There have been projections of a $15 million average for Kirk, although this seems somewhat high. After all, Dallas signed Michael Gallup on Sunday for five years at an average of $12.5 million annually and Gallup has similar or slightly better stats than Kirk.

Those two receivers are somewhat similar production-wise. They each have 2,902 yards receiving after four seasons, but Gallup is coming off a season shortened by an ACL tear so in a full season he might have been well ahead of Kirk's production. Of course, the injury has to be factored in but Dallas seems convinced there will be no problem with Gallup returning.

Kirk has 236 catches to Gallup's 193 but also more games played due to the knee injury.

As for Smith-Schuster, health has been an issue. He has 323 catches for 3,855 yards (11.9 yards per catch) and 26 TDs in five seasons. He had a season-ending shoulder injury and has had three seasons out of the five when he failed to play the full schedule. Last year it was just five games.

The bottom line in whether the Bears should have interest in either receiver is how much either can help Justin Fields. Everything the Bears do in free agency needs to be pointed at Fields.

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Between the two receivers, Kirk looks like a better match in some ways.

He is faster, having run a 4.47-second 40 at the combine to Smith-Schusters's 4.54. He has a 3 1/2-inch better vertical leap (35 1/2 inches to 32 1/2) but needs it because Smith Schuster is 2 inches taller at 6-foot-1 and is 15 pounds heavier at 215.

Size can be important with Smith-Schuster because he is a rare taller slot receiver and could be viewed as an asset in the running game for blocking ability by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Kirk does not really fill this role.

Kirk has been slot and outside receiver, and although he is shorter his best play is said by Pro Football Focus to have been on the outside.

Smith-Schuster has been more dependable as a receiver when healthy with a catch percentage of 68.6%. e has twice been in the 70s. Kirk had never been higher than 63.2% until reaching 74.8% in 2021.

Kirk appears only a slightly better target than Smith-Schuster and there have been projections of his cost at $8 million annually, which is what he played for last season.

Based on cost and overall value, Smith-Schuster appears a slightly better acquisition, but his value to Fields would be more for drive extension than for the deep ball.

And make no mistake, Fields wants to throw that deep ball.

He finished third in average air yards per attempt according to NFL media's Next Gen Stats, trailing only Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson at 9.5 yards. And he led the NFL in average completed air yards (7.1).

For this reason, some other media-generated web rumors of Bears interest in Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling make sense. Valdes-Scantling ran a 4.37 40 at the combine, a hair faster than Darnell Mooney.

The difference between those receivers at a less elite level than some of those tagged already is too small to warrant overpaying for any of the players, so if the estimates on Kirk are correct then that should be a non-target for the Bears. They have money under the cap, but not limitless funds.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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