New Chicago Bears wide receiver Markus Wheaton has faith in the unknown.
"I think we definitely are underrated," Wheaton said of the Bears' receiving corps, via CSN Chicago. "We've come in and worked to get to where we wanna be. We will get there, and it'll show up on the field."
At first glance, the Bears might have one of the most unenviable situations for a potential rookie starting quarterback in football. The potential centerpiece, 2015 first-round pick Kevin White, has played in just four NFL games, with 19 catches for 187 yards.
The rest of the crew are high-upside free agents who have played a more complementary role throughout their career: Former Giants wideouts Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, former Titans first-round pick Kendall Wright and Wheaton, who missed a majority of last season with a shoulder injury.
On one hand, you cannot blame the Bears for this current crop of receivers. They stuck to their price point and evaluation on former standout Alshon Jeffery, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $14 million with incentives in Philadelphia. They wanted White to emerge and they surrounded him with the best of what was left from a skittish wide receiver market. All of these receivers have, at one point in their careers, performed well. Before Cruz's devastating patellar tendon tear, he was without question a No. 1 NFL wideout. Randle, who struggled with the playbook in New York, still logged a near 1,000-yard season with the Giants and scored eight touchdowns in his final year.
Is there enough talent there to one day become properly rated? Mitchell Trubisky and Mike Glennon certainly hope so.
