Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle suffered a fractured ankle in Saturday’s game against Tennessee, an injury that will require surgery to repair and keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Waddle was a lock to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft and was considered by some draft analysts to be the top receiver prospect in the class. Now, that distinction will now go to either Ja’Marr Chase (LSU), Rashod Bateman (Minnesota), or Waddle’s teammate at Alabama, Devonta Smith.
The Bears have a well-documented need at wide receiver and it’s a need that could become a glaring one if they fail to re-sign Allen Robinson. The rest of Chicago’s wide receiver depth chart features Darnell Mooney, Anthony Miller, Javon Wims, and Riley Ridley.
Wide receiver will be at or near the top of the Bears’ draft wish list.
Here’s the rub: At 5-1, Chicago is trending toward a pick that will be in the playoff portion of Round 1. Top wide receiver prospects usually come off the board in the first 20 selections, and if the draft was held today, the Bears would be somewhere between picks 22 and 25.
They’re just outside that elite wideout window, and it’s a window that closed a bit with Waddle’s injury.
Speed players like Waddle lose some of their draft appeal after suffering such a serious lower-leg injury. The fear that he’ll never return to his pre-injury form is very real, and it usually causes front offices to wait until Day 2 before taking a chance on players with injuries like his.
As a result, a first-round wideout who would’ve ranked behind Waddle and maybe lasted to the Bears’ first-round pick will now be pushed up the rankings and could jump a few spots in Round 1, too.
Smith, for example, will jump — at worst — from WR4 to WR3 and potentially from a pick that would’ve been somewhere between 20-25 (or in Chicago’s wheelhouse) to a top-20 lock.
The most important thing here is that Waddle returns to full health and takes the NFL by storm. He’s one of the few electric playmakers available in this year’s draft, and guys like him are hard to find.
Still, this stings for Bears fans who were hoping to be in the market for one of the top wide receivers in the 2021 NFL draft. Waddle’s injury made those odds a little worse, assuming Chicago keeps winning this season.