Chicago Bears (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
One week from today, the 2022 NFL Draft kicks off and all of the rumors, speculation, reports and opinions will likely mean nothing. For Chicago Bears fans, next Thursday night may not be all too eventful.
The Bears enter this year’s draft without a first-round pick, but that’s of course due to last year’s trade up to draft Justin Fields. This year, and in the coming years, will be all about surrounding Fields with enough talent.
Possessing two second-round picks, the Bears do have an opportunity to find Fields some additional protection and possibly a real playmaker at wide receiver.
But, there is also a possibility first-year general manager Ryan Poles doesn’t address wide receiver in that second round and instead goes after other positions of need. Poles and the Bears very well could be in the market for a third-round receiver and then even a late-round gem.
If the Chicago Bears need to find a late-round wide receiver, they have plenty of options with high upside.
This 2022 class is one of the deepest wide receiver classes in recent memory. There are plenty of possibilities even after the second round. But, let’s go deeper than that.
Just two years ago, the Bears found Darnell Mooney in the fifth round. Not drafting a wideout in the second or even third round wouldn’t be the end of the world, so long as Poles finds the right player(s).
If Poles is looking later than the third and into Day 3 for wide receiver help, he won’t have to look far. The Bears can still find impact players on that day, even at the wide receiver position. There are guys with the speed that Matt Eberflus covets, as well as the ability to get open, which helps a developing quarterback tremendously.
Five particular receivers make sense for the Bears to target on Day 3, and each one of them could prove to be far more valuable than where the Bears find them.
