The Chicago Bears are holding their mandatory minicamp this week, and it's bittersweet. Yes, we have football. But it's also the last bit of football we'll get until training camp in late July.
I've decided to fill some of the void by reviewing and comparing each of the NFC North's teams' major position groups. I already touched on quarterbacks here.
In this post, I'll focus on wide receivers.
I'll consider only the top three receivers on each team, based on the most recent depth charts. We could go further, but once you get into a team's fourth, fifth, and sixth receiving options, you're not looking at anyone who will change a game's outcome. The top three get the lion's share of targets, so that's who I'll focus on.
One bit of housekeeping before getting to the receivers. I included Jameson Williams in my Detroit Lions analysis despite his six-game suspension to begin the 2023 season. Barring injury, he'll play the majority of the year anyway, and given how much draft capital the Lions tied up in him, it makes sense to include him here.
Detroit Lions
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Marvin Jones Jr.
St. Brown exploded onto the NFL scene seemingly out of nowhere after entering the league as a fourth-round pick in 2021. He's accumulated over 2,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons. He's a star in the making, with the potential to be a consistent Top 10 receiver in the league.
After St. Brown, things get a little murky for the Lions. Williams likely would have been the first receiver off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft if not for his injury. He was still drafted 12th overall, but to date, he's appeared in just six games and was targeted nine times to the tune of one reception (which happened to go for a touchdown). And now, he won't play in a game until nearly November.
Williams has all the makings of a stud wide receiver, but he has proven nothing so far. The Lions will need to see big numbers from him soon.
Jones Jr. is entering his 11th season and his second stint in Detroit; he was a Lion from 2016-2020 and spent the last two years in Jacksonville, but is back in the Motor City. He is a consistent performer, but his total yards and touchdowns have decreased in each of the last three years. He may not be a surefire starter anymore, but as a 2nd or 3rd option, he can be terrific in that role.
Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, KJ Osborn
Jefferson is a Top 3 receiver in the league right now and is already on track for a Hall-of-Fame career. For the sake of brevity, I'll say only that he is the best receiver in this division by a country mile.
Addison is a terrific replacement for Adam Thielen, who signed with the Carolina Panthers. There are concerns about his diminutive size as he acclimates to the NFL, but since he won't be expected to shoulder the load of a WR1, I think his career will start with a bang. I had Addison going to Minnesota in several mock drafts because it was such a perfect fit for him and the team.
Osborn is a fantastic WR3 on any offense, especially with Justin Jefferson leading the way. In two years in the NFL, he's amassed 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's not exactly a savvy route runner or a speedster, but he has his role and plays it at a high level.
Green Bay Packers
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed
Green Bay's wide receiver room has the biggest 'boom-or-bust' potential of any team in the division. Watson had a terrific streak of games last season, posting seven touchdowns and eye-popping stats, but he was invisible for most of the season. Doubs also flashed a ton of potential, but ended the season with just 425 yards on 42 receptions.
Then you have rookie Jayden Reed. Going into the draft, I liked Reed a lot and thought he could play at a high level in the NFL. But on a team with no veteran leadership at quarterback or the wide receiver room? That could stunt his development.
Underpinning Green Bay's wide receiver situation is the quarterback change, just their second in almost thirty years. Questions will need to be answered. How much of Watson's production came from having arguably the most accurate and most cerebral quarterback ever throwing to him? Can Jordan Love play at a level that elevates his receivers, or will he be a millstone around their necks?
These are questions that can't be answered until meaningful football is played.
Chicago Bears
DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool
Between 2019 and 2021, DJ Moore amassed three straight seasons of 1,200+ yards from the line of scrimmage, the only player in the NFL to do so. And he did that with quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, the broken-down version of Cam Newton, and Kyle Allen.
Trading for Moore was easily the best move of GM Ryan Poles' young career because Moore brings something to the table that Chicago hasn't had in years: a true WR1 and a Top 15 receiver in the league.
Darnell Mooney disappointed as the lead wide receiver in 2022, but as a second option, he already has a 1,000-yard season to his name. He's a fantastic route runner and a burner down the field. While he has occasional drops, he also balls out for spectacular grabs. He's developed great chemistry with Fields, and I'm excited to see how he looks going into a contract year.
Like Mooney, Claypool failed to meet expectations in 2022, but by the time he arrived in Chicago, the Bears were dealing with multiple injuries and trying to run out the clock on the season. He needs to be better, but with an entire offseason under his belt and the addition of DJ Moore, he should return to the kind of receiver he was in his rookie year when he put up almost 900 yards and nine touchdowns.
Bears don't lead the division, but that's not necessarily a bad thing
I don't think I'll shock anyone by proclaiming Minnesota's wide receiver room the best in the division. Justin Jefferson is arguably the best receiver in the league and will dominate this division so long as he's in it.
I have to rank the Lions second. While Williams is a complete question mark right now, I believe he'll live up to expectations, giving Detroit two receivers that should have both been drafted in the Top 10. Plus, Jones Jr. is a great third option.
Third place goes to the Bears, but they've very close to Detroit. DJ Moore is a stud, but Mooney and Claypool have much to prove after a disastrous 2022 campaign. Can they rise above disappointments and return to their best versions in 2023? For me, it's a resounding yes, but they've got to prove it.
Last of all is Green Bay. Like the quarterback situation, this team has way too many unknowns. Not one receiver currently slated to be a starter has more than two years of experience in the league, and their quarterback has started just one NFL game; it didn't go well for him. The potential is there, but the uncertainty covers up much of that.