The Bears traded for receiver Keenan Allen earlier this month, putting another strong weapon on their offense for presumptive No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams.
At the annual league meeting on Monday, Chicago G.M. Ryan Poles noted that the team’s personnel staff had been keeping an eye on Allen as a potential cap casualty. Then when Allen became available, the Bears were ready to capitalize on the opportunity.
“My time in K.C. I watched him do some really cool things for a long period of time,” Poles said, via Josh Schrock of NBCSportsChicago.com, “and to watch the tape it actually blew me away of how high of a level he’s still playing at his age.”
Despite playing just 13 games last season, Allen set a career-high with 108 catches. He totaled 1,243 yards — second most in his career — and seven touchdowns.
Poles noted that adding Allen is “a really cool opportunity for where we’re headed, which is going to be with a young quarterback.”
“I thought it was an absolute perfect fit,” Poles said. “I don’t think there’s a better receiver in the league that can be better for a young quarterback in terms of understanding the NFL, timing, space, reading defenses. So I think that’s a great addition.
“It balances the field with [receiver DJ Moore] on the other side, Cole [Kmet] and [Gerald] Everett at tight end, [D’Andre] Swift at running back. We have a lot of really cool things that can get going and allow us to be dynamic and really special.”
