The Chicago Bears draft class shined in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. Granted, most of it was on the sidelines. Roquan Smith isn’t even with the team. Anthony Miller was given the night off. James Daniels and Joel Iyiegbuniwe were nursing shoulder injuries. That’s over half the class. Still, those who did play found ways to show up in a positive way.
Fifth round pick Bilal Nichols was active late in the game. He made a number of strong tackles in the run game and delivered one of the teams’ eight sacks. Sixth rounder Kylie Fitts overcame a rough start to the game to become an active pass rusher himself. He grabbed a sack early and had a couple other nice pressures as well.
Yet they each had to take a back seat to Javon Wims. The wide receiver out of Georgia and the Bears’ seventh round pick was a forgotten man to most of the media. Their focus was on guys like Miller, Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel throughout most of training camp. Apparently, that didn’t sit well with Wims, who had the best night of any Bear in that game.
Indication is Javon Wims could be the true steal of 2018 Bears draft class
Wims had himself quite the second half, catching seven passes for 89 yards. His big body and strong hands were on display throughout and he showed a knack for being able to play both inside and outside. A source said the Bears brass is “over the moon” with the play of Wims and feel he may be a long-term wide receiver for the team. They believe he has the ability to play like a first round pick.
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Top graded SEC WRs this season:
A.J. Brown, Mississippi (85.2)
Javon Wims, Georgia (83.4)
Calvin Ridley, Alabama (83.1)
DJ Chark, LSU (82.3)
Ryan Davis, Auburn (82.2)— Vinnie Ronca (@PFF_Vinnie) December 2, 2017
Many in the draft community were actually shocked he fell as far as he did. A primary reason for it was likely his limited production. He had just 720 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. Except that is without any context. Wims was only targeted in the passing game 59 times that season. Georgia was a run-first offense all year. Meanwhile, guys like Ridley (107) and D.J. Moore (143) were targeted much more often.
For Wims to get that kind of production out of 59 chances is actually pretty impressive and the Bears were smart enough not to let the chance slip by to get him before the draft ended. Now they suddenly might have a weapon in their offense with first round skill but the chip on his should of being a seventh rounder. In other words, it’s the best of both worlds for Chicago.
