Darryl Drake: Best group of Bears pass catchers since 2004

Bears wide receivers coach Darryl Drake is adamant that this is the best group of pass catchers he's had since he joined the Bears in 2004.

"There's no doubt," Drake said. "I really do believe that."

Critics will contend that's not saying much, but last year the Bears had three wide receivers with 45 or more catches for the first time in nine years. All three of those young players are back and could be challenged for playing time by other young players. Devin Hester led the group with 57 catches, Earl Bennett had 54 and Johnny Knox 45 as a rookie.

None of them should be close to peaking, since Hester is 27 and still perfecting the finer points of the position, while Bennett and Knox are just 23. Devin Aromashodu, who finished strong last season and will see more action this year, is 26. Juaquin Iglesias, who was lost in the shuffle last season as a rookie, is only 22 and trying to fight his way up the depth chart.

In the past decade or so, the Bears have had receivers who could stretch the field, such as Bernard Berrian; crafty veterans like Muhsin Muhammad; and physical receivers who could exploit the middle of the field, such as Marty Booker.

But Drake believes this crop of pass catchers gives him more all-around talent than he's ever had.

"We've got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things," Drake said. "We've got guys who can be possession guys, we've got guys who can run, and we've got guys who have got run-after-catch ability."

Most important, some of Drake's guys can do all of those things.

"Usually, in the past, we were lacking something," Drake said. "It may have been run-after-the-catch ability, where they may have had straight-line speed, but we may have lacked run-after-the-catch. We may have had a possession guy, but we may not have had the straight-line speed. Now I think we've got a combination of all of them."

With offensive coordinator Mike Martz's emphasis on throwing the ball and his reputation as a passing-game wizard, combined with immensely talented Jay Cutler at quarterback, it would seem like the perfect mix for turning potential and raw talent into production and points. Cutler and his wideouts have now had more than a full year of working together, and they're more in sync than ever.

"Everyone's a little bit more comfortable," Cutler said. "That's probably the biggest difference. Everyone is a little bit older, a little bit more mature. Offensively, there's a little bit of a sense of urgency and a sense of excitement to get this year started and crank it up with this new offense. Just working with those guys for a year, you see the dramatic growth that they've made."

One of the most interesting story lines of training camp and the preseason should be which of the wide receivers emerge as the main weapons in what's expected to be a high-powered passing game. Even in Martz's pass-heavy offense, there won't be room for more than three or four wide receivers to contribute on a regular basis. But having to decide playing time among several deserving players is the kind of dilemma Drake relishes.

"It's a good problem," he said. "You better have depth. Shoot, I would like to have 10 and (know) they could all play. I hope my job is so hard that I have to pick straws for guys to play. I want it to be difficult."