The Chicago Bears signed wide receiver Allen Robinson to be the top guy, and he’s been just that. The team is impressed with his maturity at a young age.
One of Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace’s priorities in the offseason was to overhaul the team’s wide receivers unit. In order for Mitch Trubisky to develop, he needed a better receivers corps than what he had last season. Just to give you an idea of how bad the unit was, no receiver on last year’s team was on another NFL roster until just a few weeks ago.
The biggest move Pace made on offense was to sign Allen Robinson. He signed the receiver to a three-year, $42 million contract. Pace and the coaching staff expected Robinson to be a leader for this new-look unit.
So far, he’s been just that.
Robinson has impressed the front office, the coaching staff, and his teammates. At 25, he’s shown he’s wise beyond his years. His professionalism is something his teammates strive to copy (even those who are older). Whether he’s the priority in the gameplan or not, or if he’s deactivated (like he was in Weeks 8 and 9), he goes out and does what he needs to do to help the team win.
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WIde receivers coach Mike Furrey appreciates Robinson’s work, per Pro Football Weekly:
"When ‘A-Rob’ goes out and plays and practices, you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s a leader.’ He’s a professional,” Furrey said. “It’s his job, so he comes in and gets guys going, whether it’s studying film or studying the opponent. He’s got that alpha to him where, ‘This is our job, and let’s go out and do the best that we can at it.’ That’s a good presence to have."
Trubisky and Robinson worked hard on their rapport on the field. They’ve done a lot of work together. Early in the season, Trubisky forced too many throws to Robinson. In hindsight, however, while those throws didn’t work a lot early on, the trust between the two has grown and now they’re connecting.
For example, in the Week 10 matchup against the Detroit Lions, the two connected on six catches (on eight targets) for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Also, after not finding the end zone in his first three games, he’s scored in three of his last four games. The only game in which he didn’t score was against the New England Patriots when he left early because of a groin injury.
As I said recently about Khalil Mack on the defensive side of the ball, Robinson is a critical piece for the offense. With the connection between Trubisky and Robinson getting better, this offense could be even more successful than it has been so far this season.