Chicago Bears: Poles plays “Let’s Make a Deal”, nearly doubles his picks

Wide Receiver, Velus Jones, 3rd Round, #71

This was the pick that I was most disappointed with the most. The Chicago Bears needed help at wide receiver. They had a subpar unit last season and things didn’t get better this offseason with Poles’ free agent pickups.

There is no denying that Velus Jones is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands. He has speed to burn (he ran a 4.31-40 at the NFL Combine). However, he isn’t a full wide receiver. He doesn’t run a full route tree. Basically, the routes he runs are the go-route and a screen.

Once he has the ball and he gets away from the defender, absolutely no one will catch up to him.

The Bears needed a true wide receiver to help quarterback Justin Fields. Jones may fill the role Cordarrelle Patterson played on the team a couple of seasons ago. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will utilize him in the backfield some to give him the ball and let him go.

In looking at his film, too many times his route-running had him out of position to make a play, even on those he wasn’t covered well. That won’t help in Fields’ development. Sure.

Fields will be able to hit him a couple of times deep, but that won’t compensate for Jones’ inability on other plays.

Where Jones will shine, though, is on special teams. He will be an incredible asset there. He has great vision and, as mentioned earlier, he is electric with the ball in his hands. He will shine as a returner and fans will love that.

Jones had more returns (140) in his college career than he had catches (120). Additionally, in six college seasons, the best one he had was his last one in 2021 in which he gained just 807 receiving yards. The Bears had too big of a need at wide receiver to pick up a part-time one.