Javon Wims gave the Bears their second new receiver in as many days.
The Bears selected Javon Wims — who led the national champion runner-up Georgia with 45 catches, 720 yards and seven touchdowns — with their seventh-round pick Saturday, one day after they traded up for Memphis’ Anthony Miller.
Standing 6-3, 215 pounds, he started for the Bulldogs last season, playing mostly on the left side of the offense. He ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“Other than size, I’m a hands catcher,” he said. “I have a unique ability to get the ball when surrounded. I have amazing ball adjustment skills … A lot of people say there’s a huge upside there because of a lot of raw talent. That just shows I have only scratched the surface of what I can become. I think have my best football days ahead of me. Under the right tutelage, the right team and the right fit, I think I can be a very good player in this league.”
A former basketball player, he switched to football at Belhaven College four years ago, transferring to Hinds Community College and then to Georgia. Between community colleges, he worked two full-time jobs.
“Once I left there and I was working at a 9-5, it made me realize that you were really blessed and your next opportunity, if you ever get one, you better make the most of it,” he said. “I just stayed disciplined and everything, because I just remembered how hard it was when I wasn’t there.”
The worst part, he said, was “not doing something you love.” It made him appreciate Saturday more.
“Really I’m mostly proud of the fact that I never gave up,” he said. He’ll be one of at least four newcomers in the receiver room next year, joining Miller and free agent signees Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel in Matt Nagy’s offense. The Bears also signed free agent Bennie Fowler earlier this month.
Wims is the second former Bulldogs player the Bears have taken this week. Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith was drafted eighth overall.
General manager Ryan Pace said he was “big, physical, he has outstanding hands, outstanding catch radius, body control, a guy (coach) Matt (Nagy) and I have talked about for a long time.”
