Windy City Gridiron
How will Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson decide to fill out the bottom of the roster on offense?
For this next training camp battle, let’s take a deep dive and look at the bottom of the roster construction on the offensive side of the ball.
Before we examine the bottom of the wide receiver room specifically, we need to consider how the offensive roster is constructed. To do that, we will start with the premise that the Bears will keep 25 offensive players (most teams keep 25 on offense, 25 on defense, and a kicker, punter, and long snapper).
I think it’s a safe bet that the Chicago Bears will keep 3 QBs, 4 RBs, 5 WRs, 3 TEs, and 9 OL. That’s 24 guys, so who will be the 25th? The Bears could keep a 5th running back (Ian Wheeler), they could keep a fourth tight end (Joel Wilson), they could keep a 10th offensive lineman, or they could keep a sixth wide receiver.
It’s important to lay that out to understand that not only are Myles Boykin and Tyler Scott competing against each other for a spot on the 53-man roster, but they are also competing with the bottom of those other position groups as well.
If the Bears decide to go out and trade for a veteran running back, odds are they will keep five running backs, and this conversation becomes less relevant, but the Bears haven’t done that, and there are no signs that they are going to do that anytime soon.
When you look at the bottom of the roster, guys, almost all of them fall into two categories: guys who contribute on special teams or young players that the team is hoping will develop.
If Boykin makes the roster, he certainly will make it as a special-teams contributor. Boykin will turn 29 this fall. he was once a third-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, but after two seasons of trying to make it work with him offensively, his role was greatly reduced in his third season, and he was released that following offseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers scooped Boykin off waivers and used him primarily as a special-teams player. He played that role for two seasons. After that, the Steelers let him walk. Boykin spent last season on the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad.
With the log jam of offensive talent at the top of the wide receiver room, Boykin’s ability on special teams is his path to the 53-man roster. What he does offensively in training camp is almost irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what kind of offensive skills he flashes. Do we really think he’s going to take snaps away from DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, or even Olamide Zaccheaus?
Tyler Scott’s path to the 53-man roster is murkier. Scott was selected in the fourth round just two seasons ago, and the pick was universally applauded for great value. But Scott’s rookie season was not a successful campaign.
The Bears had thoughts...
