NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears’ offense has mustered the fewest receptions, the fewest passing yards, the sixth fewest yards per catch, and the fourth fewest touchdown receptions in the entire NFL this season.
… But if you ask wide receiver Kendall Wright, wide receiver isn’t a problem:
#Bears WR Kendall Wright: "Antonio Brown will go out there and have 15 targets, and he's great. You come to our game, we have two, and 'Oh, the Bears need receivers.' They don't need receivers. When you balance it up, you see what us and our receivers do."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) December 13, 2017
Zach Zaidman, who serves as the in-game sideline reporter for the radio home of the Bears, unearths some interesting quotes from Wright – who leads the team in receptions and receiving yards after his 10-catch, 107-yard breakout against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14.
Wright isn’t the first Bears receiver to speak out against the perception of the group being a weak link. Back in June, Markus Wheaton proclaimed that the Bears’ receivers were underrated. Unfortunately, that optimism never grew into realism as injuries and inconsistent play tripped up the group from being everything Wheaton believed it could be.
To be fair, Wright might be onto something regarding how Bears receivers have been deployed:
#Bears WR Kendall Wright: "If you're a receiver, if you're going out there getting 2 or 3 targets a game, are you good? How do you know if you're good or not if you're only getting 2 or 3 targets a game?"
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) December 13, 2017
Wright leads the team in catches (43) and receiving yards (477), but is averaging 4.9 targets and 3.3 receptions per game. Then again, it’s hard to get catches and targets when you’re not getting significant snaps.
He leads the Bears’ group of receivers has been on the field the most of any receiver as his 465 total snaps (336 receiving snaps) lead the way for Bears pass catchers. HOWEVER, the 465 snaps amount to just 58.1 percent of the 801 offensive plays run by the Bears this season. Further, Wright has been on the field for just 62.8 percent of the team’s passing plays.
There simply hasn’t been enough time for Wright to make an impact on the receiving side of things.
Even though Wright has been on the field for just 56 percent of the plays run with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback, he has played 79.8 percent of those passing snaps. Generally speaking, Bears don’t run a lot of offensive plays and trends suggest they prefer the run to the pass more often than not. Entering Week 14, only the Bengals ran fewer plays per game than the Bears.
If the team’s Week 14 game plan is a sign of things to come, though, Wright might see a bump in action over the final three weeks. Wright played on 61.8 percent of the offensive snaps against the Bengals and was on the field for 71.8 percent of the team’s pass plays. The reward? The team’s first 100-yard receiving game of the year.
In the end, Wright has one goal in mind as the season winds down:
#Bears WR Kendall Wright: "All I can do is go out there and do what I'm coached to do. That's all we all can do. We all have a job, and that's to go out there and do our job, and be the best at our job."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) December 13, 2017
