PFF: Bears Receivers Worst in NFL
It doesn't take clairvoyance to know a difficult time could lie ahead for Bears receivers this year.
New GM Ryan Poles has been chastised for his approach to rebuilding the team from all directions mainly because of a perceived inability to bring in enough receivers to help quarterback Justin Fields after they let Allen Robinson leave.
Pro Football Focus has been prominent among those blasting the talent level of Bears receivers throughout the offseason, and this week put Chicago's receivers where one might expect when they made their annual ranking of the league's receiver groups.
The Bears are ranked dead last at No. 32.
PFF's Ben Linsey wrote that Poles is trying to build the "right way" through the draft and not overspend in free agency, but still blasts Bears receivers.
The article calls Darnell Mooney a No. 2 receiver and not a No. 1, this even though the leading wide receiver for 14 teams in the league had fewer receptions than Mooney and 18 teams had a No. 1 wide receiver with fewer receiving yards than Mooney.
"Leaning heavily on (Byron) Pringle, Tajae Sharpe, Velus Jones Jr. and Equanimeous St. Brown isn’t where you want to be as an offense," PFF wrote.
How Sharpe rates so high to even make this list isn't known. David Moore and Dante Pettis might actually figure in above Sharpe.
None of this PFF analysis takes into account the possibility Fields or new GM Luke Getsy could actually make the existing receiver corps better.
It's been obvious to anyone who watches football that the best quarterbacks make the receivers and not vice versa. This is why Green Bay was willing to let Aaron Rodgers take a group of receivers into 2022 ranked No. 31 overall by PFF, ahead of only the Bears. The Packers know their QB will elevate receivers.
As Getsy said: "Who wouldn't want Davante Adams, right? That's part of it. But Davante wasn't Davante until he became Davante."
And it was Rodgers who made Adams, not the other way around.
The Bears are looking for receivers who can be elevated by Fields' throwing.
Former Bears GM Jerry Angelo insisted for years that the right wide receivers can elevate a QB. It was his argument when he signed Muhsin Muhammad. He was trying to elevate Rex Grossman. In the end, it was Muhammad who actually knew how it worked when he said "Chicago is where wide receivers go to die." Quarterbacks will elevate the receiver.
Allen Robinson was and still is an excellent receiver, but he couldn't elevate Mitchell Trubisky beyond mediocre. The Carolina Panthers for two years have had an excellent group of speedy receivers and can't get their passing game going sufficiently because it's not possible for receivers to elevate a poor QB.
The Giants had Kenny Gollday, Evan Engram and a group of promising receivers last year, including highly coveted rookie Kadarius Toney. PFF rated them 12th. Yet, they ranked 31st in passing because those receivers were not about to elevate dead weight at quarterback like Daniel Jones and Mike Glennon.
A bad quarterback is a bad quarterback and the receivers can do little about it. Conversely, an average group of receivers can be far better because of the QB.
Bengals receivers are ranked No. 1 in the league by PFF this year but it's not because they've done anything so spectacular. They couldn't even beat the Bears last year.
The receivers rate so high because Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have Joe Burrow at quarterback. Put them with Mike Glennon and they'll look like poor Golladay did last year.
The point is, Fields and Getsy both will have the say in how effective Bears wide receivers are as a group, so ranking them last in the league only says PFF doubts Fields and/or Getsy.
Don't be surprised when potential threats emerge from this Bears receiver group regarded as refuse by PFF, as a more confident and experienced Fields expands his game.
By the same token, don't be surprised when Kansas City's receiver group proves far better than PFF thinks. PFF dropped the Chiefs from third best receiver group to 19th going into this year after the loss of Tyreek Hill, Pringle and Demarcus Robinson.
No doubt Patrick Mahomes will have something to say about all of this and whoever he decides to throw it to will look good.
The receivers are only as good as their passer.
It's always been this way. So rating receiver groups is fairly insignificant. It's the passer and function of the passing game that really matter.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
