Chicago Bears: Can Marquess Wilson have a significant role?

By Kevin Parvizi | Jun 20, 2015

After catching just two passes as a rookie, Chicago Bears lanky 6’4″ wide receiver Marquess Wilson looked like a sleeper player to watch in the 2014 season. However, a broken collarbone ruined his plans, as Wilson was only able to appear in seven games last season, catching 17 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Now in his third season in the league, Wilson has a good chance to finally make good on his intriguing skill-set and high ceiling, but the Bears decision to draft Kevin White with the seventh overall pick looms as a potential wrench in his breakout plans.

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But with White sidelined due to an unknown issue, Wilson had a chance to shine with the added first and second-team reps. According to ESPN Chicago’s Jeff Dickerson, the 2013 seventh-round pick out of Washington State did not disappoint, and Dickerson reported that Wilson even seemed to “impress” Bears new head coach John Fox.

The fact that Fox apparently likes what he saw from Wilson is important, because there were some worries that the new regime might be willing to give up on the 22-year-old wideout as a project if he didn’t show up well this offseason. I wasn’t a backer of this idea due to my belief in Wilson’s physical tools, so it’s great to hear that the talented wideout, who ran a 4.51 forty at the Combine as a draft prospect, is making good on his early opportunities.

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That said, opportunities in OTAs are obviously different from opportunities in real games, and it’s fair to wonder if Wilson will have many chances to shine this year. See, not only did the Bears draft White, but they signed Eddie Royal and gave him a good deal of guaranteed money to be the much-needed slot presence in their offense.

Royal, who has previous experience working with Jay Cutler, is coming off of an efficient season and looks primed for a big role (he could feasibly be second behind Alshon Jeffery on the target totem pole, but that all depends on White). Heck, Dickerson even highlighted Royal as another player whose stock is rising, so Wilson isn’t the only wide receiver garnering attention for the Chicago Bears this offseason.

Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, and Matt Forte will also continue to command targets, and then there’s White. He might have even better tools than Jeffery, who proved that he can be a true No. 1 receiver in this league. That’s the kind of player White can be in this league, because he has an absolutely uncanny and dynamic combination of size and quickness, which helped lead some to rank him over Amari Cooper, who was the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft.

Marquess Wilson is an impressive receiver physically and has the tools to make an impact, but the fact of the matter is that he’s in a crowded situation in Chicago on a team that might feel compelled to continue to give Forte major touches in an effort to prevent Cutler’s turnovers from getting the best of the offense. Moreoever, even if Wilson continues to play well, there’s a chance it won’t matter anyway if Royal and White look even more impressive.

Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Marquess Wilson (10) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, Royal is the favorite to have the most high-volume role in the offense behind Jeffery, and it’s clear to me that they signed him to have a huge and unique role in the passing attack.

Wilson is competing with an even better receiver prospect in White, who is the favorite to be the team’s outside receiver opposite of Jeffery in three-wide sets.

But the Bears are giving White the ol’ “work your way up” rookie treatment by listing him as the No. 4 guy behind Jeffery, Royal, and Wilson, which indicates that Wilson has a fair shot to earn a real role in the offense.

I mean, even if he is the No. 4 receiver, he can expect targets to come his way if he earns the trust of the coaching staff at Cutler.

With his height, speed, athletic ability, college production, and apparently eye-catching work in the Bears offseason program, he’s well on his way to carving some opportunities out for himself if he can keep it up.

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