Chicago Bears may already be applying lesson from Eagles loss

One thing about losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs was it taught the Chicago Bears a number of important lessons.

The big decision for them is whether they’ll decide to learn from said lessons. Perhaps the most obvious one is that they desperately need a new kicker. Everybody knows that Cody Parkey can’t possibly be allowed to keep his job after missing 11 kicks in 2018. Two of them being game-winners including the playoff loss. After that, the lessons run a bit deeper. One that may have gone overlooked? The Bears may be lacking physicality at wide receiver.

Philadelphia tends to favor cornerbacks who are bigger and play tough, in-your-face coverage. It seems that for much of the game, particularly in the first two quarters that the Bears were having a tough time playing through that. The only one who seemed to handle it well was Allen Robinson. A key reason for that? His size. Robinson is 6’3 and able to match up well with any cornerback. The same can’t be said for the other primary receivers in that offense.

Anthony Miller is 5’10 and Taylor Gabriel is 5’8. They simply aren’t built to play the physical game against bigger corners. That might explain why some of the early Bears offseason reports have them sniffing around receivers with size.

Likely exit of Kevin White furthers Bears size disadvantage

It was clear this past offseason that the Bears were trying to find receivers who had more speed and route running prowess for the West Coast-style offense Matt Nagy was installing. However, as valuable as those two assets can be it doesn’t matter if they don’t have to physicality to get off jams at the line of scrimmage. Bigger receivers have this capability. With Kevin White likely gone, the only receivers of note the Bears have over 6’0 are Robinson and 7th round pick Javon Wims.

Wims has shown promise but it’s clear the coaches aren’t satisfied with where his development is yet. Thus they’ve been active already on this offseason looking at receivers. They signed CFL target Jordan Williams-Lambert last week and then reportedly met with KeeSean Johnson out of Fresno State. Both are 6’3 and showcase plenty of instances playing strong against corners.

It leads one to believe this is only the beginning. They may have designs at looking for more potential under-the-radar receivers they might be able to snag in free agency or the draft.