Despite a 5-11 record in 2017, there’s a belief that things are starting to fall into place for the Chicago Bears and it all starts with quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Now, imagine if he had someone reliable to throw to in 2018. Someone like Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who believes he can be that guy for Trubisky and the Bears upon arrival … should the Bears take him in the draft, of course.
“If they want to choose me, I can come in and make plays right away,” Ridley said, via Chris Emma of 670 The Score/CBS Chicago.
Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times reports the Bears will meet with Ridley tonight at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those conversations.
Ridley could be the play-making receiver the Bears offense has been looking to build their receivers room around. He has a history of making an immediate impact, gaining more than 1,000 receiving yards and earning freshman All-American honors in 2015. Ridley’s numbers dipped as quarterback production took a step back when he was catching passes from true freshman Jalen Hurts while in a run-oriented offense. He was still a second-team All-SEC member as a sophomore, then earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2017.
All things considered, Ridley is a stud pass-catching prospect who has yet to tap into his potential, in part because he was under-used at Alabama. In a different offense with a better quarterback, Ridley could be a star at the next level.