Chicago Bears: Eddie Royal love makes sense

Even though the Chicago Bears traded expensive star wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets in what was mostly a cap-saving move (though the Bears may have also been upset with how Marshall played and acted in the team’s disappointing 2014 season), they are better off at the wide receiver position now.

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Marshall is an excellent receiver, yes, but the Bears are deeper and more well-rounded after signing veteran Eddie Royal and drafting high-upside WR Kevin White with the seventh overall pick. They also have a healthy Marquess Wilson heading into the 2015 season, and he continues to be an athletic sleeper worth monitoring closely this offseason.

White is the more talented and exciting receiver, but Royal may have been the Bears most important offseason acquisition at the position. Not only is he set to have the bigger role in the offense in 2015, but he fills a void that the Bears desperately needed to fill. You can argue that Jay Cutler has never had a true impact slot receiver during his time in Chicago, so Royal, who ran 86.2% of his routes last season out of the slot (from Pro Football Focus), is more than just a welcome addition to the Bears offense.

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Cutler has previous experience throwing passes to Royal back when they both played for the Denver Broncos, and he’ll be getting a more refined version of the Virginia Tech product. With 15 touchdowns in the past two seasons and back-to-back seasons with at least 12.5 yards per reception (he previously never hit the 11.0 mark), Royal is playing the most productive football of his life, even if he did once catch 91 passes as a rookie in Denver.

Maybe more importantly for the Bears offense, Royal has been downright efficient in each of his past two seasons with the San Diego Chargers and star QB Philip Rivers. As per Advanced Football Analytics, he’s had catch rates of 70.1% and 68.1% to go with 9.4 and 8.5 yards per target in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Those are strong numbers across the board, and the drop in efficiency can be explained by his larger role in the 2014 offense that was brought about by Keenan Allen‘s sophomore slump.

Yesterday, the NFL Network’s Albert Breer tweeted that the Chicago Bears have “big plans” for the 29-year-old wideout, and this tweet combined with the praise Royal has received this offseason should come as no surprise. John Fox, Ryan Pace, and Adam Gase brought him in for a reason, and the clearest piece of evidence that Royal will have a huge role in the Bears offense is his contract.

They are giving him just $15 million over three seasons, but $10 million of that is guaranteed, so he and DeSean Jackson both have two-thirds of their contract guaranteed, per OverTheCap.com (if you recall, D-Jax specifically fought for more guarantees, which was one reason for his release from the Philadelphia Eagles).

Of course, the other piece of evidence is the fact that Royal is unequivocally the Bears best and most experienced receiver in the slot, and he has the production over the past two seasons to prove it. Some of those numbers are bloated by Rivers and the structure of the offense, but he’s still played well.

There’s no excuse for Cutler to fail with true No. 1 receiver Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, the hard-working Matt Forte, White, Wilson, and Royal populating his supporting cast. All of those players are impressive, and Jeffery is the obvious alpha dog of the bunch in the passing game. But Royal, who commanded 91 targets from Rivers last season, could be the one to benefit his quarterback the most. Rivers had a 117.3 QB Rating when targeting the AFC West veteran, giving Royal the 12th-best WR Rating among receivers last season, per PFF.

With his knowledge of the offense, well-rounded skill-set, immediate offseason impression, and expected 2015 role, Eddie Royal could have a third straight productive season that may even be better than what he did in 2013 and 2014. His touchdowns will surely go down, but those TD number serve to show you just how good Royal is at making an impact in all facets of the game.

December 20, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers wide receiver Eddie Royal (11) catches a pass during overtime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

At this point, Royal is the early favorite to be the team’s second-leading receiver as the slot man who will take plenty of pressure off of Jeffery and White on the outside.

White could have a bigger season than Royal if he grasps things quickly, but he’s mostly one for the future. Royal has the best shot at making a big impact in 2015, so the safe bet is for him to be second behind Jeffery in most receiving stats on the Bears offense.

Although he isn’t a star receiver or anything like that, he’s a guy the Bears can come to rely on.

And while he isn’t as good as Marshall, he will play a more unique role in the offense than the former Bears star wideout, meaning that his added versatility could prove to be more impactful, though that might depend on how White (or even the sleeper Wilson) plays opposite of Jeffery.

Royal is the quickest receiver the Bears have had on their roster in recent memory, and he, Jeffery, and White could be a truly dynamic trio with Bennett and Forte at TE and RB. This Bears offense has huge potential, and the only question mark at this point is Cutler, though he looks like a good bet to bounce-back (even if he isn’t a safe one).

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