Jeff Dickerson, ESPN Staff Writer 5y

Bears' Anthony Miller has high hopes for sophomore season

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Anthony Miller feels like a new man.

The 51st overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft, Miller suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 last season that affected him the rest of his rookie year.

Miller technically missed only one game, and still led the team with seven touchdown receptions -- the most touchdown catches by a Bears first-year wideout since Bobby Engram (six) in 1996 -- but he struggled to run routes the proper way because of complications related to the shoulder injury.

Miller underwent offseason surgery to fix the issue.

"It'll definitely be different [this year] because I get to use my hands now," Miller said on Friday. "Last year, I really didn't get to use my hands. I was just relying on just having good footwork so I could get open. But now I can incorporate my hands.

"When I was running a route, I wasn't able to swipe down or come back with my arms because I feared my shoulder would pop out. I was just dipping and just trying to find my way every play. It ended up working out, but this year's going be a lot different."

The fact Miller performed at such a respectable level with the injury has the Bears encouraged.

Miller had a 100-yard receiving game in a win over the Detroit Lions (five receptions for 122 yards and one touchdown) and finished the season fifth on the team in catches (33) and receiving yards (423). Miller's seven touchdown receptions were also second most among NFL rookie wide receivers after Atlanta's Calvin Ridley (10). Miller caught three passes for 34 yards in Chicago's playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Miller enters the 2019 season as not just a proven red-zone weapon, but as one of the Bears' top three receivers, alongside Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel.

"Probably 85 percent for him is just making sure he has the mental side of it," Bears coach Matt Nagy said earlier in the week. "Understanding the conversions, different leverages you see in this league, when you're hot, when you're not. That's big.

"I think to his credit, he's done a good job. He had a chance to go through that here in the offseason with his injury, but he was able to go into meetings and dive into that playbook. Now we get to training camp, and he has the double duty, with the physical side and the mental side. So far what I've seen, it's what we thought we had when we drafted him."

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