One of the more unexpected signings of the Chicago Bears' offseason was inking former Notre Dame wide receiver Miles Boykin to a one-year deal.
Boykin was the third of three veteran wide receivers the Bears added this offseason. The other two were former All-Pro returner Devin Duvernay and Olamide Zaccheaus. If the Bears had done nothing else at the wide receiver position, Boykin was already facing an uphill climb toward making the 53-man roster. Add in the fact that the Bears used their first two selections in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, Boykin could just be nothing more than a Training Camp body for the Bears.
Burden's arrival all but guarantees that he will be the Bears' slot wide receiver to open the season. Given Ben Johnson's past preference for running 12-personnel, chances are a fourth wide receiver won't be an extremely important role in the Bears' offense. Nevertheless, that likely is where Duvernay and Zaccheaus factor in.
Meaning, for Boykin, if he makes the Bears' team, it would be as the sixth wide receiver on the depth chart. However, that spot isn't a guarantee to be on the Bears' 53-man roster, and if it is, Boykin would be competing with a Ryan Poles' draft pick in Tyler Scott.
Miles Boykin's chances of making the roster aren't looking great.
Boykin caught the eye of NFL teams with his senior year performance with Notre Dame in 2018. During that season, Boykin totaled 872 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns on 59 receptions. That led to him being a third-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019. After a moderate degree of success during his first two seasons in the NFL, the Ravens moved on from him after his third season.
Boykin developed into a special teams' ace with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 and 2023 but did not play in a NFL game last season. Boykin bounced between the practice squads of the New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks last season.
Short of Boykin having a role on the Bears' special teams in 2025, it's hard to imagine that he will be on the team's roster by the time Week 1 arrives.
