Draft analysis: What will Bears do with loaded wide receiver class?

The Bears have something every team wants: A legitimate No. 1 wide receiver in his prime. There’s no doubt Allen Robinson fits the criteria.

Their problem, though, has been finding a quality running mate for him.

While Robinson had one of the best seasons of his career, it took until Thanksgiving for the Bears to have another receiver go for 80 yards in a game. Taylor Gabriel missed almost half the season because of concussions, Anthony Miller struggled until late November and none of the up-and-comers had a breakthrough season.

The Bears didn’t do anything to address the need in free agency because, like many teams looking for a receiver, they believe it’ll be easy to find a good one in the draft. The consensus is that receiver is the strongest position this year, so teams hope they’ll be able to get top talent later than usual.

For the Bears, that means hoping a player worthy of a first-round pick is still sitting there when they choose at Nos. 43 and 50, or that an intriguing middle-round prospect can be had in the fifth, sixth or seventh round.

General manager Ryan Pace’s picks at the position have been shaky throughout his time with the Bears.

He opened by taking West Virginia’s Kevin White at No. 7 overall in 2015, and he managed 25 catches over three seasons before dropping out of the league. Pace also picked Daniel Braverman (three career games played) in the seventh round in 2016, second-rounder Anthony Miller (85 catches, 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns over two seasons) and Javon Wims (six starts last season) in the seventh round in 2018 and used a fourth-round pick on Riley Ridley, who played sparingly, a year ago.

The simplest solution for the Bears would be for Miller to become a reliable pro. There has been evidence that he’s capable of doing of that, but he hasn’t shown it consistently. Coaches publicly have expressed concerns about his knowledge of the playbook.

Miller had 33 catches for 431 yards over a five-game run late last season, but offered very little other than that. He had three catches or fewer in 10 games.

Because of the Bears’ limited picks, though, it’s debatable whether they should spend one of their two second-round picks at receiver. Those are their only selections in the top 150, and they badly need a tight end, reinforcement on the offensive line and a quarterback. They’re also tending to uncertainty at cornerback and safety.

If they do go after a receiver, they’ll be targeting someone in the range of the seventh- to 10th-best player. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper highlighted USC’s Michael Pittman and Colorado’s Laviska Shenault as receivers who could be there at No. 43. Both had 1,000-yard seasons in college and clocked 40-yard dash times in the 4.5s at the combine.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Grading the Bears’ need: Medium. This will be a test of need versus value for the Bears. While they need another good receiver, there are other, more pressing issues. But if they can grab a first-round talent in the middle of the second round, it’ll be hard to bypass.

On the roster: Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Cordarrelle Patterson, Javon Wims, Riley Ridley, Thomas Ives, Reggie Davis, Alex Wesley.

The five best prospects: Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, LSU’s Jordan Jefferson, Clemson’s Tee Higgins.

Keep an eye on: USC’s Michael Pittman. This guy was an absolute monster last season. At 6-4, 220, he hammered the Pac-12 for 1,275 yards and 11 touchdowns on 101 receptions. He’s the son of former Buccaneers running back and Super Bowl champion Michael Pittman. The problem for the Bears when it comes to Pittman is that he could go late in the first round or early in the second. They’ll either need to trade up or get very lucky to land him.

Close to home: Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool. He arrived from Canada as somewhat of a project and developed into a dazzling No. 1 receiver for the Irish. Claypool put up 1,037 yards (15.7 per catch) and 13 touchdowns last season. He is projected to go in the mid-to-late second round.