Chicago Bears would be silly not to pursue K.J. Osborn in NFL free agency

The Chicago Bears are going to need comprehensive receiver help in free agency this offseason. One name that would make sense for them to sign would be Minnesota Vikings wide receiver K.J. Osborn.

Chicago Bears would be silly not to pursue K.J. Osborn in NFL free agency

Osborn was a former fifth-round pick. After failing to put up any production during his rookie season, Osborn bounced back in a big way with 655 yards in his second season and 650 yards in his third season. In year four, the team moved him outside a bit more, and the addition of Jordan Addison, along with the loss of Kirk Cousins, caused him to dip to 540 yards. He also dropped from seven touchdowns in 2021 to six in 2022 and just three last year.

Some would see this as a reason to stay away, but even at his lowest, he would be an upgrade over what the Chicago Bears had. Tyler Scott produced 168 yards, and averaged 0.68 yards per route run in a depleted wide receiver room as a rookie. For comparison, Osborn was at 0.97 yards per route run last year and 1.11 for his career. He would be an upgrade. As noted, he ran 48.5% of his routes from the slot in his career, but last year it dropped to 35.4%. He would be best off in the slot.

The Chicago Bears are trying to move Scott into the slot, but he never played there in college and hardly got the chance as a rookie. They could trust Scott to start without any proof he could do it, or they bring in Osborn to compete with Scott and see which one wins more work in a training camp competition.

PFF has Osborn projected for a two-year, $10M deal, so even if he lost a camp battle to Scott and was a fourth wide out next year, it would not hurt the team’s cap situation. The Chicago Bears should pursue K.J. Osborn in free agency and see if he is a fit.