Confident Hester making strides at receiver position

In the third of nine position previews in advance of training camp, coach Darryl Drake discusses the Bears wide receivers.

How did Devin Hester perform in OTAs and how pleased are you with his development this offseason?
He performed just like I thought he would. He continues to make strides. He’s playing with so much more confidence in everything he’s doing. We’re playing him at every spot. We’re moving him around; he’s doing a lot of different things. The biggest thing you see is the plays that he makes. He and Jay [Cutler] have gotten on the same page with a lot of things. I’m really pleased with his development. Hopefully it will continue and we’ll see what we hope we’re going to see.

What are your expectations in terms of the type of player Devin can become this year?
I think he can be the best, and my expectations are just that. His expectations are just that. We’re not trying to sell ourselves short. We’re trying to reach for the stars. He’s got that kind of ability and that kind of mindset, so we’re going to go for it. We’ve got some goals we want to attain and he’s got some goals he wants to attain, so we’ll see what happens.

What are Devin’s strengths as a receiver and what does he need to work on in training camp?
His strengths are his quickness, his ability to get in and out of cuts, and his hands. The thing that we need to continue to improve on is reading coverages; understanding what’s happening to you because things change after the snap. Learning to react and adjust consistently takes a period of time. It takes time for guys to totally understand the inner-workings of secondary play and how the secondary rotates and what the defense is going to be in just by looking at a linebacker’s alignment. That just comes from continuing to play and it takes guys years before they’re able to understand that.



(chicagobears.com)