Why the tight end room might be set for 2020

[soulman]

Chicago Bears: Why the tight end room might be set for 2020

 

by Cameron Henderson 11 hours ago Follow @camgamhende

https://beargoggleson.com/2020/04/06/chicago-bears-jimmy-graham-tight-end/

Jimmy Graham could be just what the Chicago Bears need and now the team might be set at the tight end position.

Jimmy Graham is now the tight end for the Chicago Bears. I have dreamt of this happening. Well, five years ago anyway. Next, I will discuss why I am not against the Jimmy Graham’s signing and why I think Ryan Pace made the correct decision.

First, let us discuss his age. I know what you are thinking. He is going to be 34 years old in November. Why not sign Greg Olson who wanted to come back to Chicago? Walker is also a free agent. Why not spend the money on Austin Hooper?

Well, Graham is 33 years young at 10. Yep, he has 10 years in the NFL due to coming into the league at 24. Greg Olson has 13 years under his belt, and Delanie Walker has 14. Both joined the NFL at 22 years old. While age is a big part of slowing down in the NFL, time in the NFL is as well.

The quarterbacks are reason number two. What changed on offense from 2018 to 2019 for the quarterback? Well, besides a lot of things, one main thing is the tight end position. With this offense being similar in style to the Andy Reid and Doug Pederson attack, the Chicago Bears need a tight end to be productive.

When Trey Burton was brought in to be that player, he was coming off a season in which he had 11 yards per catch. It was also very close to that in 2018 with the Chicago Bears. That position, according to Matt Nagy, isn’t just an explosive part of the offense, it sets the offense for other players to get open.

So while Trey Burton was Trubisky’s explosive player and safety net, Nick Foles uses tight ends more then he does his actual wide receivers. Without looking at his Super Bowl season in week One of the 2018 season against the Falcons, Foles targeted Zach Ertz 10 times, seven to Darren Sproles, and another 10 to  Nelson Agholor.

In Week Two he targeted Ertz 13 times and Agholor 12 times. The comparison keeps going. In Week 14, he targeted Ertz seven times, Dallas Goedert twice, and Alshon Jeffery eight times. In Week 15, Ertz saw16 targets, Sproles six, and Agholor seven.  Nick Foles loves to read inside out.

Jimmy Graham, despite being older, still averaged almost 12 yards per catch with the Green Bay Packers. Even if he only gets 500 yards and three touchdowns, Graham still is critical to be on the field to set the offense.

The younger guys need more time. It has been stressed that outside of quarterback, that U tight end position is the hardest to learn. Another excellent addition not being talked about is the F tight end role. While most won’t remember, Nagy talked about that position when he was first hired. Most of his F tight ends are Y tight ends but are on the field a bit less. They take on the role of fullback, inline blocker, and at times receiver.

While J.P. Holtz did a stable job in the backfield with his blocking skills, his inline blocking was subpar.  Also, as a receiver, he does not bring much as a mismatch. Demetrius Harris brings a basketball frame with a fullback attacking attitude to the game.

Speaking of basketball players, the Chicago Bears signed Darion Clark, USC basketball forward listed at 6’6  233 pounds. He said he spent a lot of 2019 working on becoming a tight end in the NFL. It’s a long shot, but imagine having Jimmy Graham teaching an athletic freak how to become a tight end in this offense. With Graham, Burton, Harris and Clark on the roster, fans should not be surprised if Ryan Pace is done shaking up the tight end room.

[Heinz D.]

I missed the Clark signing. When did that happen? Was he even on a roster last year?

The article is, well, more than a little uneven, but I think that it might be right in the sense that Pace sees TE as set. Outside of something unforeseen (like Kmet at 50), what we have is most likely what we get. It's a shame that Horstead may be left out of the mix--as he doesn't deserve to be. 

[soulman]

29 minutes ago, Heinz D. said:

I missed the Clark signing. When did that happen? Was he even on a roster last year?

The article is, well, more than a little uneven, but I think that it might be right in the sense that Pace sees TE as set. Outside of something unforeseen (like Kmet at 50), what we have is most likely what we get. It's a shame that Horstead may be left out of the mix--as he doesn't deserve to be. 

I think he may have been signed late last year.  Probably to a reserve futures deal.  Just Pace out there beating the bushes for prospects.

I would hope he doesn't go TE shopping in this draft or at least not until a later pick.  I think it's a very average TE class.

[GBHalas]

I'm still a big fan of Hopkins in this draft.  I think he is a perfect fit for this type of offense. Even though the Bears signed Graham, I believed they are still very interested in Hopkins, and he might be a candidate if/when the Bears trade down in round two. My gut tells me that Burton still might be a post June 1 cut if Hopkins is drafted.

[soulman]

The author makes some reasonable assumptions which could of course be altered by the draft.  But at this point I believe the Bears assumption is Burton will have recovered and on that basis I don't see them releasing him before training camp if at all because one way or the other he's getting paid at least $4 mil and even post June 1 we still get hit with a two years of dead cap to save only $2.8 mil in 2020.

I have to think there's a strong motivation on everyone's part to at least see what he's got because any rookie we draft won't have time to learn all of the intricacies of Nagy's "U" TE position well enough to contribute much in 2020.  I believe that despite showing some talent that's the main reason why Horstead didn't get more playing time last season.  He simply didn't know enough of the playbook.

[JAF-N72EX]

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Why not spend the money on Austin Hooper?

*sigh*. Some people still don't get it that we didn't have the money to spend on Hooper.  This isn't a madden video game people. 

Besides, he isn't worth what the Browns paid for him coming off a year where he missed 3 or 4 games to injury and has only played a full 16 once in his career.

He took advantage of a relatively weak free agent TE class and now he's getting paid like the best TE in football and he aint no Kelce, Kittle or even Ertz. 

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With this offense being similar in style to the Andy Reid and Doug Pederson attack

I really wish people would stop with this false narrative too. This offense is NOTHING like KC and Philly. Not style, not formations, not in design,....NOTHING. The only thing that MIGHT be close is how it was initially built. Unfortunately though, Nagy seems content on trying to create his own path instead of following in the footsteps of something that works. Hopefully that changes this year but I have doubts.