The Bears’ receiver room is starting to take shape for Caleb Williams, but one of the more intriguing names in the mix is still easy to overlook.
Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III already look like the kind of top-end pairing Chicago wants leading the group. After that, the picture gets a lot less settled. Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker and rookie Zavion Thomas are all part of the conversation, and so is JP Richardson - a player who may be close to turning himself from camp body into a real roster decision.
Richardson’s first run with the Bears didn’t exactly scream “lock.” As an undrafted free agent out of TCU, he entered last preseason as a long shot, caught four passes for 28 yards, and still got cut.
Chicago brought him back quickly on the practice squad, where he spent the season. Now he’s back for Year 2, and the opportunity is different.
At 5-foot-? no, the source does not provide his height, so keeping to what’s given: he’s an undersized receiver who profiles more as a slot option. The challenge for Richardson is simple enough to say and harder to pull off - turn the production he showed in college into something that translates at the next level.
Across four seasons at Oklahoma State and TCU, he put up 175 catches for 1,940 yards and 11 touchdowns. His best college season came at the end, when he totaled 57 receptions for 733 yards and two scores. The number that stands out most is the 12.9 yards per catch he posted that year, because that’s the kind of playmaking Chicago needs him to rediscover.
The hands aren’t the issue. The bigger test is what happens after the catch, where Richardson has to separate himself if he wants to stick.
He did run a 4.53-second 40-yard dash last offseason, so the speed is there. The question is whether he can turn that into more than just straight-line promise.
There’s reason to think he’s headed in the right direction. Richardson could become a preseason difference-maker, and special teams should help his case rather than hurt it. If he keeps developing, the Bears may want to keep him around and let the process play out.
And if they let him go, another team might be the one to find out just how much upside he still has.
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For Odunze, the opportunity is obvious, but so is the pressure. Chicago wants a passing game built on merit, not reputation, and that puts every practice rep under a brighter light as Williams and the new coaching staff sort out who they trust most. If Odunze can stay on the field and keep building on what he has already flashed with his quarterback, he could turn this into a defining summer for his place in the offense. [Read more 🡒]