Chicago Bears 2022 season review: Grading the offense

Chicago Bears 2022 review: Wide receivers

This was one of the most disappointing units in the offense. Nearly every receiver from the 2021 season was gone. The only one who stayed and made an impact was Darnell Mooney.

Mooney was on his way to another pretty good season. Despite playing in only 12 games (including his last one in which he got injured before he received a target), he still finished second on the team in yards with 493. He will get healthy and be ready to play on a hopefully better team in 2023.

The rest of the unit just could not get the job done. There were a lot of injuries but even when healthy they had a difficult time getting open and making key plays. The number of times that Dante Pettis dropped key third-down passes are etched in many fans’ minds.

Despite having only 21 catches for 323 yards and a touchdown, the Chicago Bears rewarded Equanimeous St. Brown with a one-year contract extension. He showed that he could be a good piece for depth. Also, he did a great job of blocking.

Then there were the performances of the other wide receivers. They combined for just 60 catches for 772 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Look for Poles to make several moves to improve this unit. He’ll draft a receiver (or more) in the draft in addition to signing a receiver (or more) via free agency. Other than Mooney and St, Brown, look for Chase Claypool and Byron Pringle to return. Poles gave up the number 32 pick for Claypool so he’ll return and Pringle was a Poles favorite. He only played in 11 games due to injury so Poles wants to see more of him.

Grade: D