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When it comes to my all-time favorite Chicago Bears wide receiver, a lot of names come to mind, Brandon Marshall, Johnny Knox, Allen Robinson, and one of my favorite names ever, Devin Aromashadu. But one player stands out against the rest, my all-time favorite Bears wide receiver is Alshon Jeffery.
Alshon was one of the first players that I really wanted the Bears to draft. I had watched his college career pretty closely because I watched most of his games with my mom because she is a South Carolina grad. I instantly loved his game, he obviously reminded me of Brandon Marshall because of their size and catching ability. Jeffery had an amazing career at South Carolina, his sophomore season he had 1,517 yards and 9 TD. The following season, Jeffery was named the best player in the SEC, which is an amazing accolade with programs like Alabama, LSU, and Georgia also in the SEC.
I personally believed he was a first-round talent and you could imagine my happiness when the Bears selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft. Alshon didn’t do much his rookie year only catching 24 passes for just over 350 yards and only 3 TD’s. But his second year in the league was Jeffery’s best to date. The 2013 season is Jeffery’s only Pro-Bowl season, and that was also the year that I got to go to my first ever Chicago Bears football game. On October 6, 2013, the Bears hosted the New Orleans Saints, and I had made a pre-game prediction that Alshon was going to have a standout performance. Boy did I nail it, Jeffery had 10 catches for 218 yards and a TD in a 26-18 loss to the Saints. Because of that performance, my dad was forced to buy me an Alshon Jeffrey jersey that I still own and wear to this day. I don’t normally wear jerseys of players that are not still on the Bears, however, Alshon is the only player I’ll still wear despite him no longer playing in Chicago.
Alshon currently ranks 3rd all-time in Chicago Bears history in receiving yards, 9th in receiving TD’s, and 7th in receptions. That may be the saddest thing you’ve read today and I apologize for that, but I will not apologize for how awesome Alshon was. He could have been number one on this list if he never went to the Eagles. But he got his Super Bowl win and I’m happy for him. But he will always be a Bear in my eyes.