LeGere: Big opportunity right in front of Bears' Wilson
INDIANAPOLIS — The Chicago Bears' offense struggled to move the ball in Wednesday's practice against the Colts at their Indianapolis training facility.
It will continue to do so until Alshon Jeffery returns from a calf injury and someone steps up to fill the role envisioned for first-round pick Kevin White.
Without the two big-play wide receivers, the Bears lack much of the firepower they hope to unleash this year.
“I thought they got after us; they won the day,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said of the Colts' defense.
“We've got to fix a lot of things, I've got to fix some stuff, O-line, receivers, so we'll have some good film to watch and we'll make some corrections.”
The obvious choice to assume more responsibility in the passing game is third-year wide receiver Marquess Wilson.
Drafted in the seventh round in 2013 as a 20-year-old, Wilson essentially was given a redshirt year.
But at training camp in 2014, the 6-foot-4, 199-pounder seemed on the verge of stepping up into a prominent role — until he suffered a fractured clavicle making a diving catch.
He returned for the final seven games last season and caught 17 passes for 140 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
A year older, wiser and stronger but still just 22, Wilson is being counted on, especially with White likely to miss most or all of the season.
“He's a mature 22-year-old,” Cutler said. “We just need him to take that next step and get some confidence. Getting hurt last year set him back a little bit.
“Once he gets out there, catches some balls and gets going some, he's going to be a threat.”
Though not a burner, Wilson has the length, the hops and the catching radius to win 50-50 balls downfield. But that's not all there is to his game.
“He can do anything,” Cutler said. “You can put him inside, you can put him outside, he can break in, he can break out. Man-to-man he's good off the press. He's got a huge array of routes that he can do.”
In the Bears' diminished receiving corps, Wilson will get additional opportunities in the preseason, including in Saturday's Game 2 against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
He has proved worthy of the promotion.
“He's shown good improvement,” Bears coach John Fox said. “He's getting better. We're leaning on him some. He's a guy we saw a little bit on tape a year ago and felt pretty good about.
“He's getting plenty of opportunities, and I'm excited to see where he goes with it.”
If there's any benefit to being without two of his favorite targets, Cutler admitted he's getting an opportunity to work with players he normally wouldn't.
“I would like to work with Alshon and Kevin,” Cutler said, “but it is what it is. We're shifting some guys in there; some guys are getting some work with the 1s and some of the 3s are getting work with the 2s, so it's a good thing we're seeing everybody right now.”
With starters expected to play into the second quarter Saturday, Cutler and the Bears would love to see Wilson emerge as a viable weapon.
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