The Bears have made a lot of moves to improve their offensive skill positions this offseason, the position that seen the most improvement was wide receiver. The Bears added Brandon Marshall, via trade and Alshon Jeffery via the draft. All signs point to Jeffery being a very good receiver in the NFL, but none will know till they start training camp and start playing games. The Bears now have a true number one wide receiver, in Marshall. Marshall is a top ten wide receiver. While Jeffery has a ton of promise he is still an unproven rookie. The player that might benefit the most from the acquisition of these two players is Devin Hester.
When thinking, Hester benefits the most it is a little hard to comprehend because he has had enough time to show his skill set in the NFL. While Hester has had time to show his skill set, the one thing that the Bears have been lacking since he has been in town, is a number one wide receiver. The benefit of having number one receiver is the coverage will role to Marshall.
Ever since Hester was moved to wide receiver I have been unable to figure out why he was always playing an outside receiver. Hester’s best games and plays on offense have come from him playing the slot. Yet the Bears continue to line him up outside on most of his snaps.
In the 2012-13 season Mike Tice plans on Hester lining up on the outside, yet again. However this year it is much different than past seasons. The Bears have Marshall. Teams have to respect Marshall and will most likely roll coverage his way. If the Bears put Hester in the slot the safety can cheat and be able to split the difference between the Hester and Marshall. Since teams now have more to worry about then the speed of Hester. This year it makes sense to have Hester on the outside because it keeps teams honest, they can’t cheat. Cheat towards Marshall and Hester can get behind the defense with his speed. If teams cheat towards Hester (which I can never foresee happening because he is not very good at his job that being catching the ball) Marshall will win a one on one battle with cornerbacks most of the time. There is also Jeffery who will being playing in the slot roaming the middle of the field, even thought he is a rookie he will still demand respect at first because of his size. But if Jeffery struggles early, which happens with most rookie wide receivers, the Bears plans go up in smoke. But if Jeffery has some good games early the passing attack for the Bears could be very good. The passing attack would still the third best in the NFC North. However it could be a top 10 in the NFC.
