The argument for drafting a Bears wide receiver in Round 2 is a strong one.It's easy to look at players like Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and see the great impact they have had on their teams' offenses, as well as their immediate succe s, and project this for a Bears selection with their first pick in Round 2. It's too easy. Those rookies were phenoms. Bears fans who hope to see a wide receiver chosen in Round 2 by their team need to also have patience. Wide receivers are somewhat like tight ends. They tend Billy Williams Jersey to struggle immediately.It's part of why there is such a strong wide receiver demand in free agency and thus high prices for wide receivers. Veterans know the game and can produce. Rookies take a while.Last year was supposed to be an excellent year for wide receivers and 35 were drafted but only 11 had more than 33 catches a game in their first year, or two receptions per game if they played the full season. Five of the 11 who had 34 catches or more were drafted in Round 1.The le son learned from this is to come Mike Montgomery Jersey looking for a receiver in Round 1. The Bears don't have a first-round pick, so they had better look in Round 2 rather than Round 3.No problem? They'll just come up with another Darnell Mooney late in the draft?It's extremely uncommon to find the receiver late in the draft who produces immediately, and for that reason the Bears need to thank their lucky stars every day for Mooney. Finding a fifth-round pick who makes 61 and then 81 catches is almost impo sible these days. It's almost impo sible to find them after Round 2.Mooney has more catches in his first two seasons than all but two receivers chosen in the 2020 draft, Jefferson (196) and C.D. Lamb (158).In the 2021 draft only one receiver taken after the 49th pick had more than 33 receptions as a rookie. That was Amon Ra-St. Brown of the Lions, who had 90 receptions for 912 yards.Mooney was the only receiver taken after Round 2 in 2020 who made more than 35 receptions as a rookie.Now, this doesn't mean a receiver can't develop. Cleveland's Donovan Peoples-Jones, Minnesota's K.J. Osborn and the Eagles' Quez Watkins all out up bigger numbers in Year 2. But they needed the first year to figure it out or heal after doing nothing much as rookies.Scroll to ContinueAs far as providing instant succe s like Chase or Jefferson, it's going to need to come in Round 2 or the Bears will simply need to learn to be patient. For this reason, people need to start thinking of Mooney as Bears go-to receiver now and quit worrying about whether they can find the go-to receiver in the draft. They're simply looking for a complement now for Mooney.GM Ryan Poles said at the combine Tuesday how impre sed he is with Mooney, when he hadn't known as much about him prior John Lackey Jersey to coming to Chicago beyond studying him in the draft. It's easy to understand because Mooney might be the most undersold or underrated receiver in the league considering what he has done with 142 receptions.Coach Matt Eberflus has something particular he is seeking in the draft or free agency from any receiver the Bears pursue."You want explosive athletic ability there that can produce chunk plays," Eberflus said. "That's what you want. So if you throw a screen and you want a guy Nico Hoerner Jersey that can take it and go for 15 or in, all the way. "Because you know the control pa sing game is just that but the athletes are the guys that make you mi s. That to me is you have guys that are quick, explosive, strong. they have to be strong at the point of attack to be able to block because we're going to put a big onus on the running game. They have to be able to do that."It's obvious from this account they would need a bigger receiver type like David Bell, George Pickens or Christian Watson. It explains the interest in Watson, who is said to be tremendous blocker for his size. Better big receivers than those three are available in Round 1 but trading up isn't worthwhile for a team with many pre sing needs.Don't get too attached to the size thing with receivers though. Poles reminds that they need someone to catch pa ses, period."I think they come in different shapes and sizes and speeds," he said. "I think it comes down to playmakers. I think we saw that in the Super Bowl, guys that can make plays when their number is called. And that's what we look for. And we can see that on college tape."And then I would say one of the benfits of the combine is you get to see some of the physical traits as well. What sets them apart. Is it size, is it length, is it explosion, is it speed? We'll put all that together but I would say that boils down just to being a playmaker."They have one proven playmaker in Mooney, who they were very lucky with as a late-round selection.If they' Kris Bryant Jersey re going to find another playmaker, the odds say they'll need to take one from this group at the combine somewhere in Round 2 with the 39th pick overall.It's either do this or wait around for that player to develop. And they may need to do this anyway, because in each of the last two drafts three of the receivers drafted in Round 2 failed to get to 35 catches as rookies.