Which wide receivers might be available to Bears with 39th overall draft pick?

The Bears have no choice but to address the wide receiver position this offseason. Currently, Darnell Mooney is the only receiver with any legitimate NFL experience at the position.

Other than Mooney, Dazz Newsome, Nsimba Webster and Isaiah Coulter are under contract for 2022. Allen Robinson, Jakeem Grant, Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd are set to hit free agency.

One of the primary goals this offseason must be to surround quarterback Justin Fields with as many weapons as possible. The 2021 Bears did not surround him with enough. Or, in the case of Robinson, they did not optimize those weapons. This is likely going to be a complete retool of the receiver position. It will need to be addressed both in free agency in March and in the draft in April.

Coach Matt Eberflus spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine about the need to have weapons who can do different things.

"One guy might be quick and he's really a short-route runner," Eberflus said. "Another guy can do it all. That would be our No. 1 receiver. And the other guy should be able to take the top off the defense. That puts stress on the defense. Then you couple that with a tight end that has the ability to flex out and create mismatches."

Expect the Bears to go out and look for one of the top free agent receivers on the market later this month, assuming Robinson doesn't sign an extension. If the top targets - Robinson, Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Mike Williams, potentially Amari Cooper - are simply too high an asking price (Adams likely will be out of the Bears' price range), they will almost certainly look to sign somebody in the second tier. That could include the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster, D.J. Chark or Christian Kirk, among others.

The receivers in this year's draft stunned observers at the combine with their speed in the 40-yard dash. Baylor's Tyquan Thornton nearly set the record at 4.28.

With the 39th overall pick, the Bears are probably out of the running for the top receivers. Receivers have come at a premium in the last two drafts. In 2021, there were six receivers taken prior to the 39th pick. In 2020, there were eight. In past years, that number was much lower. As recently as 2019 there were only three.

While the draft doesn't have a surefire stud receiver at the top like Ja'Marr Chase, it does appear to have another strong group of pass catchers. The Combine and upcoming pro days will continue to sway opinions on all these prospects, but in early March it feels likely that around five or six receivers could be selected in the first round.

Ohio State's Garrett Wilson, Arkansas' Treylon Burks, USC's Drake London, Alabama's Jameson Williams, and Ohio State's Chris Olave appear likely to be first-round picks. Penn State's Jahan Dotson could be the sixth receiver off the board and could be a potential first-round pick as well. If not, he's still likely to be gone by the Bears' pick.

Those guys aside, three targets to keep an eye on are Georgia's George Pickens, Purdue's David Bell and Kentucky's Wan'Dale Robinson.

George Pickens

Scouting report: At 6-feet-3 and 195 pounds Pickens is a lanky target who suffered an ACL tear during the 2021 offseason and wound up playing in only four games last year. As a freshman in 2019, he caught 49 passes for 727 yards and eight touchdowns. A 4.4 40 at his height is impressive. He has long arms and a wide catch radius. His 40-yard time is 4.47 seconds.

He said it: "I watch Davante Adams a lot. I'm bigger than Davante Adams. That's kind of the lane I want to go into because with the size I am, a guy who can move is almost unguardable."

David Bell

Scouting report: There will be plenty of overreactions to Bell's 40 time of 4.65. Ignore them and go look up his game film. He had two 1,000-yard seasons and would've gone 3-for-3 if COVID-19 hadn't shortened the 2020 Big Ten season. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein described the 6-feet-1, 212-pound Bell as "a crafty pitcher with a limited fastball but a variety of pitches to get hitters out." Bell caught a ton of passes in college, and maximized yards after the catch.

He said it: "I haven't met with the Chicago Bears, but yeah, Justin Fields, that would be something that I would love to do. Watching him at Ohio State and seeing the way that he throws the ball and also his pocket presence."

Wan'Dale Robinson

Scouting report: At 5-feet-8 and 178 pounds, Robinson has a different build than the other two receivers. He is small and fast (4.44 40) - about 3 inches shorter than Darnell Mooney. After transferring to Kentucky from Nebraska, Robinson caught 104 passes for 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns in his one season in Lexington. He's reminiscent of Tarik Cohen in size and speed.

He said it: "I feel whenever it's one-on-one, I don't think anyone can tackle me. I think I turn into a running back with the ball in my hands. I'm going to fight for extra yards and just try to break as many tackles as I can, try to get to the end zone."