Predicting Bears' Breakout Players at 2024 OTAs, Minicamp

The Chicago Bears' wide receiver depth chart has been significantly upgraded in the offseason.

Targets will be hard to come by for any returning wide outs not named D.J. Moore.

A handful of those returning players will be fighting for depth roles behind Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze. They could also stay on the 53-man roster with special teams contributions.

OTAs and minicamp will be vital to the future of players like Tyler Scott and Velus Jones Jr. in how they impact the Bears roster in 2024.

Most of the summer focus will be on Odunze and Caleb Williams' growing connection, but a few other rookies could steal the show on defense as well.

Tyler Scott

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 27: Chicago Bears wide receiver Tyler Scott (13) warms up before an NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears on November 27, 2023, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Tyler Scott displayed some nice flashes as a potential slot receiver in the second half of the 2023 campaign.

The Cincinnati product hauled in 17 catches for 168 yards on 32 targets. The catch rate needs improvement, but the talent appears to be there to be a fringe contributor in the passing game.

Scott needs an impressive summer to hold on to the No. 4 spot on the depth chart behind Moore, Allen and Odunze.

A strong set of practices may lead to an elevated number of snaps in 2024. One injury could change the outlook on Scott's sophomore season.

At minimum, he needs a breakout performance to secure a 53-man roster spot over the other wide outs on the roster.

Velus Jones Jr.

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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 07: Velus Jones Jr. #12 of the Chicago Bears runs with the ball in the first half against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 07, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Velus Jones Jr. might be close to his last chance in Chicago.

The 2022 third-round pick out of Tennessee had some mistakes in the passing game and in special teams over his two years with the Bears.

The competition for the No. 5 wide receiver spot is tough with Dante Pettis and Collin Johnson among others fighting to get on the roster.

Jones would be an unlikely breakout star of OTAs and minicamp because his mistakes have been remembered more than his successes so far in the NFL.

He can change that around with a strong summer that parlays into his best season yet as a returner on special teams and a deep threat inside the offense.

Austin Booker

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LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS - MAY 11: Austin Booker #94 of the Chicago Bears looks on during Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp at Halas Hall on May 11, 2024 in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Austin Booker has the potential to be the under-the-radar star of the Bears' 2024 draft class.

The fifth-round pick will not come anywhere close to the headlines Odunze and Williams get, but he could be a functional piece of the pass rush.

Booker recorded 56 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and eight sacks at Kansas last season.

Chicago needs some extra pass-rushing firepower behind Montez Sweat, on the defensive line.

Booker has the potential to provide that to the Bears defense, and if he performs well, it will only make the Bears' draft class look even stronger on paper when it is evaluated in a few years.