Chicago Bears 2022 season in review: Grading the special teams

Returners

The Chicago Bears’ return game was a little disappointing. Poles used his third-round draft pick on Velus Jones. The Bears expected Jones to not only add a speed dimension to the offense but also impact the return game.

In college, Jones was one of the most electrifying returners in the nation. He has blazing speed and once he gets into the open field he is deadly. While it would take a while for Jones to adjust to being on offense (he ran a limited tree route while in college), the thinking was that he’d fit right in as a returner.

It didn’t exactly work out that way early, however. First of all, he got injured in the preseason and missed the first three weeks of the season. Then he struggled.

In his first seven games, he had just 7 return opportunities. He averaged 26 yards per return. He had five punt returns in his first three games. That’s where he really struggled. He averaged just 7 yards per return and had 2 key fumbles that prevented the Bears from having the opportunity of winning the games.

The Bears pulled Jones from punt return duties and had him as the primary kickoff returner. In his last five games there, he averaged 28.3 yards per return. His 27.6 yards per kickoff return ranked third in the league.

Last season, the Bears ranked fourth in the league in return average (11.7 yards per return). This season, they ranked 17th with an average of 8.6 yards per return. That has to be better going forward. Grade: C