JAVON WIMS STOPPED BEING STUBBORN
Before camp, wide receivers coach Mike Furrey singled out Riley Ridley as the pass catcher with the chance to make the biggest leap. On Wednesday, though, he turned his attention to another former Georgia player: Javon Wims.
The third-year wideout played 45% of the offensive snaps last year but caught only 18 passes. In camp, Furrey said that Wims “has taken some of the deficiencies that he’s been a little bit stubborn about” and fixed them.
The 6-2 Wims, he said, has finally learned to keep his body low throughout the pass route rather than stand tall and box a defender out like a rebounder.
He also stopped being “too cute” against press coverage, Furrey said. Rather than going through a litany of shimmy-shaking, he’s now making compact, violent motions to get down the field.
“I’m telling you, he’s added that to his game — and that’s been something that he’s been really stubborn about over the last couple of years,” Furrey said. “Because ‘I’m bigger than everybody, I can just out-man them,’ — that doesn’t work in the NFL.”
Furrey reiterated the Bears are bound to cut a talented receiver before the season starts.
“The guys recognize that,” he said. “And I think that they’ve taken that, and they realize every day that they have to show up and go to work, and they have to push themselves and get better every day.”