Chicago Bears: Anthony Miller could shine with Mitch Trubisky
The Chicago Bears selected Anthony Miller in the 2018 NFL Draft and the wide receiver could be critical to the development of Mitchell Trubisky.
Former Chicago Bears first-round pick Kevin White is an amazing talent, a specimen who had all the tools to be a dominant wide receiver. Unfortunately, the one thing he’s lacking is reliability due to a lack of durability. White has missed 43-of-48 games in his three seasons, so the pressure is on.
In fact, the Bears spent a ton of cash improving their pass-catching corps this offseason. They brought in Allen Robinson, Bennie Flower, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton via free agency. Additionally, the Chicago Bears opted to invest a second-round pick in Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller.
Miller may fight for playing time considering the number of vets expected to be spotted ahead him. However, Miller could end up being a major target for second-yearquarterback Mitch Trubisky.
It’s no secret that it’s difficult to find a college receiver to plug and play in an NFL offense. The 2018 NFL Draft class, however, has a few guys that were praised for their route running. Miller was one of those guys. As a matter of fact, his ability to stem his routes is why Chicago Bears new head coach Matt Nagy made Miller their second-round pick, saying via NBC Sports:
"“…With Anthony, you see a guy that at the top of his route, he likes to stick the top of the route and it’s sharp, so what that does is it sets the angle for the quarterback… And you don’t see that from every wide receiver. There’s a violent move for him to be able to set angles, whether it’s a slant route, a post route, an out route, et cetera, he’s aggressive with it and I think that fits his style of play.”"
The ability to angle routes and use quickness at the routes stem makes players like Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and Odell Beckham great. Nevertheless, those guys saw the bulk of their production working the boundaries. On the other hand, Miller will find himself playing in the slot.
The slot position is similar to the tight end for young quarterbacks, acting as a safety net of sorts. Miller brings the tenacity to the game. At 5-11 and over 200 pounds, Miller is well-built and electric. Because of his size, quickness and ability to work the middle of the field, Miller is ready for immediate success.
Additionally, Miller will find a comfort zone in new Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Helfrich comes from Oregon and he has an attacking offensive style that is wide open and works the middle of the field. Similarly, Chip Kelly, who Helfrich worked under, brought that same style to the NFL. Miller’s college team employed a similar style of offense under Darrell Dickey.
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Nagy knows what an electric slot receiver can do for an offense. It’s why he had had so much success with Tyreek Hill, who caught 61 passes as a rookie while the now-Bears head coach was working with the Chiefs. While Miller doesn’t possess Hill’s elite speed, he’s plenty flashy on film.
Miller is a plug and play receiver because he understands how to run routes. In the slot, Miller could easily catch the eye of Mitch Trubisky, who will look for him or Burton as safety nets. Connecting with Miller could lead to some big plays.