National Football League

Justin Fields needs help, and the Bears have strong options

Published Mar. 4, 2022 10:10 p.m. ET

When a team finishes 6-11 and misses the playoffs, it's safe to assume there is plenty of room for improvement.

That is the case of the Chicago Bears, who found themselves in third place in the NFC North standings while failing to win at least eight games for the first time since 2017.

A large part of the Bears' struggles was an ineffective passing attack — Chicago ranked 30th in passing yards (188.6 YPG), contributing to an anemic scoring average of 18.3 PPG.

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Darnell Mooney was the only wide receiver on the roster to cross the 1,000-yard mark, with nobody else recording more than 600 yards. With Allen Robinson set to hit the open market in free agency, the Bears will need to retool their arsenal around second-year quarterback Justin Fields, who registered just 1,870 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns in 12 games.

If the Bears want to take a cheaper route towards supplying Fields with a new No. 1 wide receiver, their second-round pick, 39th overall, could be an option. With a deep wide receiving class in this year's NFL Draft that features speedsters like Chris Olave and Jameson Williams, as well as dynamic talents such as Garrett Wilson and Treylon Burks, amongst others, there will be a wide selection of receiver talent early in the second round for the Bears' picking.

And if the Bears want to spend free-agent money on receivers, it's hard to imagine a better year to do so.

Pro-Bowl level wide receivers such as Davante Adams, Chris Godwin and Odell Beckham Jr. are all slated to hit free agency this offseason.

With the recent news of the Dallas Cowboys likely planning to release Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper, he could be added to that mix as well.

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The Bears have options, and flexibility to find help at the wide receiver position this offseason, whether it is through the draft, free agency or both.

It should be near the top of their priority list as well, for the sake of their young quarterback.