Chicago Bears' wide receiver Allen Robinson: Let the NFL free agency bidding war begin

Few star wide receivers need — and deserve — a quarterback upgrade more than Allen Robinson. Since entering the NFL, only 64.0% of Robinson's targets have been deemed “catchable” — that ranks 93rd out of 101 qualifiers. 

Lucky for Robinson, he is entering free agency with the chance to control his own destiny in this regard. He'll have the chance to flaunt his elite numbers at teams in need of a true alpha WR1 with hope of finding a match with a franchise that has a talented quarterback in hand.  

Consider the following QBs Robinson has had throwing him the ball to this point in his career: Blake Bortles, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles and Chase Daniel. None of these quarterbacks have ever earned a PFF passing grade higher than 65.0, even while playing alongside a true WR1 like Robinson. 

A change under center could do absolute wonders for a wide receiver who has still managed to accomplish so much in his young career. Let’s dive into Robinson’s numbers to prove why he should be the most sought after free-agent wide receiver on the market. Move over, Chris Godwin. 

ACCOLADES

A wide receiver can rarely be the most valuable player on a team, but that was the case with Robinson for the 2020 Bears. He ranked in the top four in PFF's WAR (wins above replacement) metric alongside DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson.

Nobody would argue how important each of these three wide receivers is to their respective franchises, and Robinson deserves all the credit in the world for creating value despite poor QB play. 

It wasn't always easy: Robinson led the NFL in contested targets (49) in 2020 and ranks No. 1 in that category since the start of the 2019 season (98). He has seen 17 more contested targets than the next-closest wide receiver (DeVante Parker). 

A-Rob has risen to the occasion by hauling in more contested catches (49) than any other player since the start of the 2019 season. His drop rate (1.8%) over that period is the second-lowest among all wide receivers with at least 150 targets.