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Chicago Bears' Jeffery similar to Texans' Hopkins

Sunday's Bears-Texans game features two of the NFL's top wide receivers in Alshon Jeffery and DeAndre Hopkins, both of whom are best known for their uncanny ability to come down with jump balls.

Chicago Bears coach John Fox isn't much for comparing players, but he's well aware of the danger the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Hopkins presents to a young, banged-up secondary.

"He does pretty good in those contested-ball situations," Fox said. "He has length, and he's stronger than his size might indicate. He has great body control in the air. A lot of those deep balls that are (purposely) thrown up there to be contested, he comes down with the majority of them.

"He's definitely a matchup issue. It's hard to go through an NFL team anymore that doesn't have a guy like that."

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Jeffery is the Bears' guy like that, and with all due respect to Fox, those guys aren't common.

Both lanky wide receivers are in the top 10 in yardage over the previous three seasons: Jeffery is ninth with 3,361 yards, while Hopkins is seventh with 3,553 yards.

After the Bears and Jeffery failed to reach a multiyear deal during free agency in the off-season, he was designated as the team's franchise player, locking him up for this season and guaranteeing him $14.6 million.

The 26-year-old Jeffery is eligible again for free agency next off-season, and he's motivated to stay healthy after last year's injury-plagued campaign limited him to 54 catches and 807 yards.

Putting up numbers similar to 2013 and '14, when he averaged 87 catches, 1,277 yards and 8.5 touchdowns, will result in a huge payday for the second-round pick out of South Carolina.

"His drive is there," Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. "He wants the ball. He's been a lot more vocal (this year)."

But the quiet and low-key Jeffery isn't just vocal about getting the football thrown his way, according to Cutler.

"He's helped out the young guys," the quarterback said. "That isn't in his nature because he's a shy guy. He's more of a go-out-there-and-do-it kind of guy. But he's taken that leadership role, which is fun to watch."

Not as fun, though, as watching Jeffery and Hopkins elevate in a crowd and come down with the ball.

Hopkins was third in the NFL last season with 111 receptions and 1,521 yards. The 2013 first-round pick also scored 11 touchdowns despite playing with four quarterbacks. Current Bears backup Brian Hoyer was the Texans' No. 1 quarterback, but Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates and Brandon Weeden all started at least one game.

Any quarterback benefits from Hopkins' skill set.

"He's got a good catch radius, he's strong, and he can go get it," Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "He was probably a good rebounder in his basketball days."

Defending Hopkins won't be easy for a less-than-healthy Bears secondary. Starting cornerback Kyle Fuller didn't play at all in the preseason and is still limited in practice after early-August knee surgery. Nickel corner Bryce Callahan also is limited with a groin injury.

"We've got to win those 50-50 balls," Fangio said. "That's something that he's really good at. We're going to have to compete at the ball and win our fair share of those. We won't win them all, but hopefully we'll be able to keep him in the park and not let him get over the top of us too much."

The Bears need Jeffery as much or more than the Texans need Hopkins. Kevin White's hamstring tweak at Thursday's practice is concerning, and slot receiver Eddie Royal didn't play in the preseason because of a concussion early in training camp.

But Jeffery says he won't put any undue pressure on himself.

"I'm just here playing football, just having fun playing the game I've loved to play since I was young," Jeffery said. "Everything else will take care of itself."

That's what quarterbacks think when they launch throws deep down the field in the vicinity of Jeffery or Hopkins.

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.

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