Everybody has a favorite player they want the Chicago Bears to select with the eighth pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. And while some are hesitant to back the Bears if they pick a receiver – for fear of re-living the Kevin White experience – someone thinks the team should put it all aside for one special wideout.
It’s Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, who believes the Bears should select Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley with the No. 8 pick:
Calvin Ridley REALLY wants to play for the #Bears. pic.twitter.com/Q52JihYR9d
— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) January 28, 2018
The best wide receiver prospect in this year’s draft “by a mile” wants to play for the Bears and the Bears need a game-breaking wide receiver and are in a position to draft one in the first round. Perfect. With an offensive-leaning head coach, new offensive coordinator, and one of the game’s up-and-coming quarterbacks already in tow, Ridley would be an ideal addition to the group.
Ridley was a three-year contributor at Alabama, hauling in 224 catches for 2,781 yards, and 19 touchdowns in 44 games with the Crimson Tide. He has show high-end route-running skills, reliable hands, and the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. Ridley probably would have been more productive in an offense that wasn’t as run-oriented as Alabama’s has been. He caught 63 passes for 967 yards as a junior despite sophomore Jalen Hurts’ struggles with accuracy throughout the season.
It’s early in the process, but Ridley has been on the Bears’ radar for quite some time and is often connected to the team in updated mock drafts. Ridley is also one of the draft’s more polarizing players, who is seen as having the potential to become the Bears’ new No. 1 receiver or not worthy of a top-10 pick.
Seeing Ridley jump into the mentions of a Bears fan Instagram page further puts him on our radar and his insistence on wanting to be drafted by the team should warm him up to some fans who might not have been previously “in” on the idea of using the eighth pick on a receiver. And if he gets drafted by the Bears, at least we know he wants to be in Chicago. That counts for something, right?