The 2022 NFL Draft is over, and the Chicago Bears drafted 11 players in Rounds 2-7, one of which was a wide receiver.
Chicago selected Velus Jones. Jr out of Tennessee with its 71st overall pick in the third round, and while he could prove to be a genuine playmaker, general manager Ryan Poles didn’t have a first round pick to work with, and he went defense with his two second-round selections.
That leaves Jones, Darnell Mooney, Dazz Newsome, Isaiah Coulter, Nsimba Webster and free agent additions Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and David Moore as the unit second-year quarterback Justin Fields will be throwing to.
While Chicago also inked six undrafted free agent wide receivers to deals after the draft, including Savon Scarver out of Utah State and Duquesne’s Cyrus Holder, the team has yet to provide its young QB with a reliable, proven talent at the receiver position.
One analyst thinks that makes the Bears prime contenders to land one of two top available free agent Pro Bowlers at the position: Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones.
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Bears 1 of 4 Teams Named Top Fit for OBJ, Julio Jones
Surveying the landscape after Day 2 of the draft, Erin Walsh of Bleacher Report selected the Bears as one of four teams who make the most sense as landing spots for either OBJ or Jones (the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens were the other three).
“Several teams should still look to upgrade at the position by acquiring a proven veteran in free agency, such as Odell Beckham Jr. or Julio Jones,” Walsh wrote, also noting: “Adding either Beckham or Jones would make Chicago a much better team.”
The Bears could afford to add either one; They currently have $15,297,343 in available cap space, per Spotrac. That money, though, would be better spent paying for a reliable offensive lineman, either through free agency or a trade — and that’s likely where the Bears will spend that money.
Positions the #Bears could be on the lookout for veterans in the coming week(s) are D-line and O-line, specifically an experienced option to compete for the right guard job.
Receiver of course is in the mix (and really almost every position) but keep an eye on linemen.
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Would Beckham or Jones Be Better Fit for Bears?
Beckham is younger (he turns 30 in November), but he would cost more than Jones, who turned 33 in February. Spotrac has OBJ’s market value projected to be in the $13 million per year range, and while they don’t have a projection listed for Jones, he should be cheaper. Jones signed a three-year, $66 million extension with the Atlanta Falcons in 2019, but was traded to the Tennessee Titans in 2021.
After a disappointing year in Tennessee that saw him play in 10 games, averaging 43.4 yards receiving per game while scoring one touchdown, he was let go. He caught 31 passes for 434 yards in 2021, and hasn’t had a 1,000 yard season since 2019, dealing with nagging hamstring issues for most of his 2020 campaign. He’ll likely be inking a one-year deal for somewhere around $9-10 million, but considering his recent injury issues, that may not be the best route for Chicago to take.
OBJ is the more interesting option.
Beckham is coming off a solid stretch with the L.A. Rams after failing to develop on-field chemistry with Browns QB Baker Mayfield in Cleveland, which led to a 2021 trade. In his eight regular-season games with the Rams last year, OBJ hauled in 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns, while catching 21 passes for 288 yards and a score in the postseason.
He got off to a hot start in the Super Bowl, grabbing a 17-yard TD strike from QB Matthew Stafford for the game’s first score, but went down with a torn ACL later in the contest. He had surgery on February 22, which he wrote was “a success” a day later on Instagram.
Both Jones and OBJ come with injury risks, but if either would be willing to take a cheaper deal, they’d be worth looking at for Chicago — although O-line should still come first.
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Bears Named Prime Post-Draft Landing Spot for 2 Pro Bowl WRs