For the Chicago Bears to have success in 2021, they need contributions from players who have yet to do so.
The Chicago Bears finally opened training camp. The battles for different jobs begin. We get to see some of our favorite players and see how they’ve changed since the last time we saw them. Additionally, we see some new players who are about to become fan favorites.
With the start of training camp, hope springs eternal. We hope that the changes the team made this offseason ultimately help improve the team’s play. We’ll have a better idea of what they have as training camp and the preseason progresses. As of now, however, many fans feel good about the team’s chances, especially with some of the moves the team made.
In what could become a coup, the Bears might have finally found their franchise quarterback. They traded up to draft former Ohio State Buckeye Justin Fields. Hopefully, Fields sees a lot of playing time on the field so he can get his feet wet. We know he is the future of the team. What we need to know is to find out when the future starts.
In order for the Bears to have a successful season, they need to have certain players step up and play well this season. They need contributions from players who have yet to show they can make those contributions. These are players who the team used important draft capital to acquire. The coaching staff had high hopes for them but they haven’t fulfilled those hopes.
Here are three players who need to finally step up and play well for the Bears to experience a successful 2021 season.
3. Riley Ridley, Wide Receiver
Riley Ridley was the Chicago Bears’ fourth-round draft pick in 2019. The coaches were high on him. At 6-foot-1 he has the height to jump over the defender to make catches. He also has the excellent body control to make difficult and contested catches.
For one reason or another, Ridley hasn’t been able to put things together. He hasn’t had a difficult time making the team but when game time rolls around he usually finds himself deactivated. In his two seasons with Chicago, he’s only played in 149 offensive snaps. Those snaps cover just 10 games. In those games, he has 10 career catches for 108 yards. That would be a good line in a game, but for a two-year career, it is not.
Darnell Mooney was a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft and he’s already become a big part of the offense. Ridley still has some catching up to do.
If RIdley does put it together he could really help the offense. With the speedsters the team has now, they’ll extend the defense. That leaves the receivers underneath space to make plays. With receivers like Allen Robinson and Ridley able to make plays, this becomes a dynamic offense.
We don’t know the reason why Ridley hasn’t found a way to stay on the field for an extended period of time. There isn’t anything about him not working hard or red flags of any kind. In fact, the coaches are still high on him and keep talking about him performing well.
Well, the time has come for Ridley to finally reward the coaches for their faith in him and help the offense improve in 2021.