Bears skill players ranked 2nd-worst in NFL by ESPN

Thankfully, training camp is only a few days away for the Chicago Bears. In an offseason filled with negative press and jokes at the club’s expense, this team and its fans can’t possibly sustain much more.

ESPN isn’t finished, though. In their recent ranking of every team’s offensive skill players — running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends — the Bears finished almost last: 31st. Only the Houston Texans ranked lower.

ESPN joins long list of outlets doubting Chicago Bears WRs

Bill Barnwell, the author of the list, used a series of parameters to form his list. He’s only considering each unit’s potential performance in 2022, and wide receivers matter more than running backs and tight ends. That doesn’t bode well for the Chicago Bears.

“The move to buy low on N’Keal Harry in a trade with the Patriots didn’t move the needle here,” Barnwell wrote. “The Bears let Allen Robinson leave after a disappointing 2021 campaign and didn’t really replace him, the opportunities across from Darnell Mooney will belong to Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, and rookie third-round pick Velus Jones Jr., who enters the league as a 25-year-old prospect, which is typically an inauspicious sign for receivers. Jones is about a month younger than DJ Moore, who is entering his fifth season for Carolina. Mooney, a talented deep threat who inherited the No. 1 spot from Robinson last season, is the standout here.”

Another shot at Jones’s age? Yawn.

Chicago Bears offense has more upside than many think

Look, as much as Bears fans may want to advocate for this team’s wide receivers being an underrated group that will emerge because of quarterback Justin Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, criticism is fair. The talent, aside from Mooney, is unproven. Pringle was Chicago’s biggest free-agent acquisition. Harry was their biggest trade. Neither has proved that they belong in an NFL starting lineup.

But that’s looking at Chicago’s wideouts from a glass-half-empty perspective. It’s the popular position among beat writers and national pundits, as miserable as it may be. But there is a chance that one or more of the Bears’ receivers will emerge. Jones is already one of the fastest players in the NFL, Pringle has an impressive set of skills that can be unleashed in a full-time role, Harry was a first-round pick who might only need a change of scenery. Why not view this group like that?

I guess misery clicks well.

Chicago Bears offense is a work-in-progress in 2022

Again, this isn’t to say the Chicago Bears are the next coming of the Greatest Show on Turf. I’m not suggesting that Fields will challenge for 5,000 yards. I’m fully expecting the Bears’ offense to struggle. It’s the first year of a new system, and all of the team’s primary pass-catchers except Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet are new. Timing will be an issue. And there’s only so much that can be ironed out in training camp and the preseason.

Hey, at least Bears fans can enjoy that the Green Bay Packers aren’t ranked much higher at No. 29, right?

ESPN isn’t high on David Montgomery, apparently

Barnwell wasn’t kind to David Montgomery, either.

“Running back David Montgomery has now failed to average 4.0 yards per carry in two of his first three campaigns and was

Hot-take season is coming to an end

Bears rookies report to training camp on July 23, with veterans checking in three days later. We’ll have every angle of training camp covered here on Bears Talk, so make sure you’re checking back every day and sign up for your membership here.