This guy has exceeded my expectations tenfold. Not only does he seem like an awesome leader and locker room presence, he is balling on the field too.

If anyone would've told me he would be a top 10 WR in the NFL thru 3 weeks and the Bears leading receiver, I would've called them crazy.

He has a 90.5% catch rate (19/21) which is the highest catch rate in the NFL this season with players that have 20+ targets. The next closest is Coker at 80.8%. He is 6th in Receptions, and his average separation is 5.2 yds, tied for the best in the NFL. In comparison, Burden has a 2.8 and Odunze has a 1.5.

Raymond is on pace for over 1,200 yards receiving.

I am sure others will get more involved, like Loveland and Thomas but it is clear Raymond has more than replaced DJ Moore's productivity on this roster.

He's a perfect slot. The big boys clear everything out and he finds open ground. Better hands than the guy we had last year. I forgot his name.

1 hour ago, Mongo3451 said:

He's a perfect slot. The big boys clear everything out and he finds open ground. Better hands than the guy we had last year. I forgot his name.

OZ.

On 10/3/2026 at 2:52 AM, adam said:

Raymond has more than replaced DJ Moore's productivity on this roster.

Agreed. Ironically I think Brees described him more an Amon Ra St Brown wideout and I’d agree with that assessment. Burden is still more like a DJ duplicate. Still to think Raymond was considered primarily a PR he’s been the leading receiver so far(?)

Was thinking about some of the former Lions players currently on the team and how well they’ve been doing; Raymond, Jonah Jackson and Swift among them. Any chance you think Johnson could get Hutchinson to come over?

On 10/5/2026 at 12:07 PM, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Agreed. Ironically I think Brees described him more an Amon Ra St Brown wideout and I’d agree with that assessment. Burden is still more like a DJ duplicate. Still to think Raymond was considered primarily a PR he’s been the leading receiver so far(?)

Was thinking about some of the former Lions players currently on the team and how well they’ve been doing; Raymond, Jonah Jackson and Swift among them. Any chance you think Johnson could get Hutchinson to come over?

Good point.

I don't know how much he interacted with the defensive players, but Hutchinson cap hit grows to $54M in 2029. They backloaded it to go all in the next two years. After that, they will have to shed salary. Goff goes to $62M next year, then $69M in 2028. Half their cap next year is in Goff, St. Brown, and Sewell already.

3 hours ago, adam said:

Good point.

I don't know how much he interacted with the defensive players, but Hutchinson cap hit grows to $54M in 2029. They backloaded it to go all in the next two years. After that, they will have to shed salary. Goff goes to $62M next year, then $69M in 2028. Half their cap next year is in Goff, St. Brown, and Sewell already.

That's not good but we also have issues as we're negative in cap space next year. Detroit has just 29 players rostered and $62mil in cap space. That's not even an average of $3mil per player for the 24 spots they need to fill so their depth is going to take a hit. We'll need to sign 11 players with -$1mil in cap space. That's how we all know Jaylon Johnson is not going to be here next year, including Jaylon himself. There will have to be other cuts or perhaps extensions (i.e. Sweat, Kmet) if it can be worked out cost effectively. After seeing how we drafted (offense, offense, offense) you know Ben is going to want to keep Kmet around.

41 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

That's not good but we also have issues as we're negative in cap space next year. Detroit has just 29 players rostered and $62mil in cap space. That's not even an average of $3mil per player for the 24 spots they need to fill so their depth is going to take a hit. We'll need to sign 11 players with -$1mil in cap space. That's how we all know Jaylon Johnson is not going to be here next year, including Jaylon himself. There will have to be other cuts or perhaps extensions (i.e. Sweat, Kmet) if it can be worked out cost effectively. After seeing how we drafted (offense, offense, offense) you know Ben is going to want to keep Kmet around.

Something that concerns me, is that Odunze and Burden will be up for contract the same year. I think Kmet will be a foregone conclusion. As PHX spoke about last year, he may be a huge trade candidate this year.

2 hours ago, Mongo3451 said:

As PHX spoke about last year, he may be a huge trade candidate this year.

As luck would have it, the Chargers are in dire need of a starting TE. Who could the Bears be interested in on the Chargers roster?

Allegedly Adam Schefter speculated that Khalil Mack could be trade bait for the Chargers. He also listed a few other players to include Josh Sweat. Could Mack return to help Chicago one more time? I’d be hugely down with that.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bears-chase-khalil-mack-deal-130732925.html

I’m not giving up the best running game in the NFL for a 35 year old DE. I believe Ben when he says he wants the scoring record. I believe the organization just wants the defense to be good enough to win behind that offense. This was clear after the draft and I don’t see it changing in the middle of what so far has been historical offensive production with 3 QBs.