The Chicago Bears know who their primary pass targets will be going into the 2026 season. It will be a mix of wide receivers, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, and tight ends, Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet. Sam Roush will naturally take the third tight end spot while veteran Kalif Raymond and 3rd round pick Zavion Thomas occupy two more receiver slots. In all the discussions about what that collection of talent might accomplish this year, it has led people to avoid another topic. What will the depth situation look like?
Presuming the Bears go with the traditional six wide receivers, that leaves two left to fill. At present, two notable names are gunning for them. Last season’s hero Jahdae Walker is one, and veteran slot man Scotty Miller is the other. Unless somebody else makes a big-time impression in training camp, that is the six-man lineup the Bears will roll with. It also presents two problems. With that many capable options, it will be hard to get everybody involved.
Also, it threatens to leave the special teams undermanned.
The Chicago Bears face a dilemma.
Usually, the bottom roster spots on the depth chart are reserved for special teams guys. We saw that with Devin Duvernay last season. The problem is that neither Walker nor Miller can be called viable options in the third phase. Miller does have some return ability, but he won’t get a chance there because of Raymond and Thomas. Neither man is particularly reliable as a gunner on kick and punt coverage. That means the Bears would basically have them on the roster doing nothing until they somehow get snaps on offense.
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That feels like an inefficient use of a roster spot. Then again, one can understand why the Chicago Bears might choose to do it this way. Injuries hit the position pretty hard last season. Odunze missed several games with a fractured foot. Walker missed three games. Burden missed two games. D.J. Moore played through nagging injuries. Head coach Ben Johnson may prefer keeping reliable pass-catchers on the depth chart compared to special teams help because of that. Keeping the offense close to full strength is more important.
Much will depend on their special teams options elsewhere.
It is possible the Bears could load up on defensive backs and linebackers who excel in the third phase. Some of their best special teams aces reside there, like Elijah Hicks and Josh Blackwell. Richard Hightower has a real knack for identifying talent in that area. The Bears are probably comfortable letting him take the lead in that search, leaving the wide receiver position alone. That said, there is one alternative on the table that the team might consider next month.
They could go heavy at the position.
It isn’t crazy for a team to carry seven wide receivers at times, provided there are certain names they’d rather not let go. If there is a special teams option that emerges in training camp or the preseason, the Bears may choose to keep him as an extra, sacrificing a roster spot elsewhere. It might be the most interesting position to watch for the next month. So much of the team’s plans will become clear from those decisions.
