Chicago Bears: Position battles to watch during 2019 training camp
Wide Receiver: Taylor Gabriel vs. Riley Ridley
At the wide receiver spot, Allen Robinson is the No. 1 guy playing on the outside. Anthony Miller is another guy, but he plays in the slot. That means there is a battle for the outside spot opposite Robinson.
The Chicago Bears surprisingly drafted a wide receiver in this year’s draft. They picked Riley Ridley in the fourth round, the 126th overall pick. The wide receivers corps looked pretty strong and many expected the Bears to look at other spots. Instead, they added a wide receiver.
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Taylor Gabriel signed as a free agent last year. He had 67 catches for 688 yards and two touchdowns. I originally thought Emanuel Hall would also be in the mix but with his injury and offseason surgery, the rookie might be too far behind to compete.
Whoever loses this battle will still be in the rotation and get a good number of targets going his way.
Gabriel and Ridley are complete opposites. Gabriel is 5-8, 165 pounds while Ridley is 6-1, 200 pounds. Gabriel is a speedy receiver who did a great job of catching the ball last year (72 percent catch percentage).
Ridley, on the other hand, is the big receiver of today’s game. He isn’t as fast, but he is an excellent athlete who can make big contested catches and runs great routes. His body control is great and he makes acrobatic catches similar to the way Alshon Jeffery did when he was in Chicago.
Winner: Ridley. If he gets the ball thrown to him early on he’ll show his abilities and he’ll wow fans with his catches. Being big and having the ability to make contested catches will help him win the job.