Jeff Dickerson, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Jarvis Landry, Sammy Watkins potential offseason WR targets for Bears

The Chicago Bears' wide receiver situation -- as it currently stands -- is untenable.

They had one wide receiver, Kendall Wright, who's an unrestricted free agent, crack the 50-catch barrier in 2017.

The next closest receiver in terms of production was Josh Bellamy (24 receptions for 376 yards and one touchdown), who's greatest value is on special teams.

Veteran free agent pickup Markus Wheaton, who was paid $6 million guaranteed last year, ended the season with a paltry three catches for 51 yards.

Former Chargers receiver Dontrelle Inman (unrestricted free agent), who joined the Bears via trade in late October, finished with a respectable 23 receptions for 334 yards and one touchdown in eight appearances with Chicago.

Of course, the Bears planned to open the regular season with Cameron Meredith and Kevin White as their starting outside receivers, but both succumbed to injuries.

Meredith, who had a solid season in 2016, expressed confidence that he'll be ready by the beginning of training camp, but the nasty nature of the knee injury he suffered in Chicago's preseason game in Tennessee makes it impossible to accurately project when he will be back, or if he'll be the same receiver he once was.

White -- the seventh overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft -- has one year left on his original rookie deal and will earn $2,693,597 guaranteed in 2018. At this point, the Bears have likely accepted the fact that White is a longshot to pan out, but there isn't much harm bringing him to training camp for one final look.

But the next evolution in Mitchell Trubisky's development is to surround the young quarterback with more weapons on offense.

The Bears won't solve all of their problems in one offseason, but they have to make a couple of moves toward an upgrade at wide receiver.

Here's a sample of what could be available in free agency and the draft.

FREE AGENCY

Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins: Landry, 25, will be the top wide receiver in free agency unless Miami signs him to a multi-year deal or applies the franchise tag. One of the games' best slot receivers, Landry caught 400 passes for 4,038 and 22 touchdowns in four seasons with the Dolphins.

Sammy Watkins, Los Angeles Rams: Watkins fell out of favor in Buffalo after three seasons, but he played a key role in the Rams' resurgence with 39 catches for 593 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017. Watkins, 24, struggled to stay healthy in 2016, but the former first-round pick had decent numbers for the Bills in 2014-15 (125 catches, 2,029 yards and 15 touchdowns).

Paul Richardson, Seattle Seahawks: Richardson, 25, had a breakout season in Seattle with 44 catches for 703 yards and six touchdowns. He has suffered serious knee injuries both with Seattle and in college at Colorado.

Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags' second-round pick out of USC in 2014, Lee emerged as Jacksonville's top receiver last season with 56 catches for 702 yards and three touchdowns. His statistics aren't overly impressive, but the Jags are built to be more a power-running team with running back Leonard Fournette.

NFL DRAFT

Calvin Ridley, Alabama: Ridley (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) had 55 receptions for 896 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season and added two touchdowns in Alabama's playoff victories against Clemson and Georgia. Ridley put up even better numbers the previous two seasons -- he had a career-high 89 catches for 1,045 yards in 2015 and had 72 receptions for 769 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016.

Christian Kirk, Texas A&M: Kirk is listed at 5-11, but he led the Aggies with 71 catches for 919 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He is the second-best receiver in the draft, according to ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

Courtland Sutton, SMU: Sutton is a big target at 6-4, 220 pounds. He had some shaky moments for the Mustangs, but he also flashed serious big-play potential. He ended last season with 68 receptions for 1,085 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged more than 16 yards per catch over the past three seasons.

DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State: Hamilton earned rave reviews for his performance at last week's Senior Bowl. ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen called Hamilton the best route runner in Mobile. Hamilton left Penn State with 214 catches for 2,842 yards and 18 touchdowns.

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