Chicago Bears: Top 5 wide receiver targets in 2018 NFL Free Agency

The Chicago Bears’ primary priority this offseason is helping develop Mitchell Trubisky. The wide receiver corps was a mess in 2017 and fixing it is a requirement.

The Chicago Bears wide receivers corps was a mess in 2017. Kendall Wright, who was supposed to be a complementary player, ended up as the Bears’ leading receiver with 59 catches for 614 yards. Those are pretty good numbers for a slot receiver but not for a leading receiver. To make matters worse, their second-leading receiver was rookie running back Tarik Cohen. Cohen had 53 catches for 358 yards. This underscores how bad the unit performed.

The prevailing thought is that all the changes in the coaching staff were made to aid in the development of quarterback Mitch Trubisky. General manager Ryan Pace views him as a game-changing quarterback and will do anything he can to help him succeed. A big part of that is overhauling the wide receivers corps.

Ironically, the bad play of the receivers actually helped Trubisky. He needed to learn different ways of getting the ball to receivers who couldn’t separate from defenders. That will come in handy when he actually has a good receivers unit.

The Bears need to pick up receivers from both the draft and free agency. Pace already started on creating a young team in the draft. Now he needs to add good, young veteran receivers. The veterans can help both the young receivers AND Trubisky on route-running and positioning.

There are a number of good receivers available and with some cuts, the Bears should have plenty of money to find a good receiver or two to help. Here are some the team needs to take a look at: