Bullish on a Bear

By: Josh Frey-Sam

One of the most coveted assets in fantasy football next season will be whoever is playing in the slot for the Chicago Bears.

The slot receiver is expected to play a key role in Ben Johnson’s offence, while catching passes from Caleb Williams, who is primed for a breakout season.

The only problem is that we have no idea who that will be yet. Mini camp could give us an idea, and training camp will provide a much clearer picture of who will be deployed at that spot.

I will keep you updated on that situation as it shakes out.

One thing we can safely presume is that it will either be DJ Moore or Rome Odunze who occupies that role.

Why will that player be so important?

Consider this: Johnson only made two stops in the NFL before arriving in Chicago, spending seven years in Miami and six years in Detroit.

The primary slot receiver during those seasons (excluding 2013 and 2020) posted the following stat lines:

2012 Davone Bess - 61 catches, 778 yards, 1 TD

2014-2017 Jarvis Landry averaged 100 catches, 1,007 yards, 5 TDs

2018 (Dolphins) Danny Amendola - 59 catches, 575 yards, 1 TD

2019 (Lions) Danny Amendola - 62 catches, 678 yards, 1 TD

2021-2024 Amon-Ra St. Brown averaged 108 catches, 1,213 yards, 8 TDs

That’s fine and dandy, Josh, but who’s to say that’ll repeat in Chicago? Try this quote from Johnson on for size (the reporter asked how he would decide which player fills that role with the Bears):

“Listen, I think that’s to be determined,” said Johnson. “It’s a little bit different right now. Can DJ play inside? I think he can. Can Rome play inside? I think he can. Both of those guys showed those traits last year on tape. To what degree? I don’t know yet. We gotta hit the grass and see what they’re really capable of and what they do well, but I feel really good about the two guys we brought in free agency (Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay) and what they bring to the table. 

“It’s just naturally, whether it was Jarvis Landry or Danny Amendola or St. Brown the last few years there in Detroit, those guys were really the focal point of the passing game where I’ve been in the past.”

As Johnson indicated, it’s anyone’s job to earn. But he will want one of his two best receivers to occupy that spot, which makes Moore and Odunze far and away the leading candidates.

Odunze and Moore spent most of their first year together running routes on the boundary as Keenan Allen took the majority of the opportunities in the slot. For what it’s worth Odunze had more reps in the slot than Moore, outsnapping his veteran counterpart 240 to 201.

Odunze played 35.3 per cent of his snaps in the slot, while Moore played 27.6 per cent of his snaps there.

At 5-11, Moore fits the traditional slot receiver better than the 6-3 Odunze, but we’ve seen that size won’t play a huge factor if both players can move well enough.

It could all depend on how Odunze looks entering Year 2. Moore is probably the better receiver at this point, but could Rome catch him?

Regardless of what your thoughts are on the Chicago Bears entering next season, whoever is filling the slot position MUST be top of mind on draft night. You can expect whoever that is to be peppered with targets and a major contributor with a solid floor on your roster.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh