Chicago Bears NFL Draft 2020: The Tight Ends
With the Bears' need for a tight end now far more pressing after cutting Trey Burton, logic only dictates it be one of the more highly regarded players in this NFL Draft.
After all, if they simply wanted to take someone in Round 7 then they could just rely on one of the many project types they have on the roster already such as Jesper Horsted, J.P. Holtz, Eric Saubert, Darion Clark or Dax Raymond.
There are other factors to consider, as well.
Within their offense, they have a U tight end spot or a move or receiving tight end. They also have the Y tight end, who runs shorter routes and does a lot of the blocking while always lining up on the line of scrimmage.
Jimmy Graham is now firmly in as the U tight end, although he has the size of many Y tight ends and may lack the speed of a good, young U.
He believes his speed is better than it's been in four or five years as a result of a previously injured knee that has had several years now to heal.
"If I didn't think I had the ability to dominate this league then I wouldn't play anymore," Graham said during his conference call with Bears beat writers. "But I still believe that I have that ability and I'm going to take each and every game to prove myself worthy to be on this team and I'm going to give them everything I've got."
The problem the Bears seem to face is their Y tight end spot isn't exactly rock solid with Demetrius Harris, who is a former college basketball player and still counts blocking among his greatest strengths at a relatively thin 6-foot-7, 230. Most of the better Y tight ends are in the range of 255 to 270 pounds.
They also have Adam Shaheen at the Y, but it's unknown what they can expect from him after numerous injuries and a career with just 26 receptions over three seasons.
The ideal Y solution might be Notre Dame's Cole Kmet, but it might require the Bears to use one of their second-round picks. The former St. Viator standout is 6-6, 262 and can block or be a receiver, so he'd be an ideal Y fit.
However, the Bears have shown less interest in Kmet compared to a few other tight ends and these are players who fit in at the U tight end position.
The thing is, the Bears have not given up on their own Y tight end, Shaheen—at least not yet. They gave up on their U tight end, Burton.
So in their view, it may be the U position they need to strengthen, even if they do have several possibles on the roster at the position already including Horsted.
Purdue's Brycen Hopkins has been the subject of three reported talks with the Bears. Bearreport.com recently said he had a video interview with them. He'd already met at the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine with them.
Hopkins, who is 6-4, 245 pounds, put up prodigious statistics at Purdue as a receiving tight end with 130 catches for 1,845 yards and 16 touchdowns. Although he battled through drops, a 15-yard average for a college tight end is spectacular. He also has NFL pedigree as his father is former Illinois and Tennessee Titans lineman Brad Hopkins.
Unlike some of the other tight ends, Hopkins failed to disappoint at the combine. He ran a 4.66-second 40-yard dash.
Hopkins isn't their only tight end of interest thus far. Early on, Dayton's Adam Trautman caught their fancy. At the Senior Bowl the Bears met with Trautman.
"They're interested in me," Trautman told NFL.com's Chase Goodbread. "They tell me they like what they see."
Trautman's numbers might be even more impressive than Hopkins' at 110 catches, including 23 for touchdowns in only two years. But it must be remembered the 6-5, 253-pounder was playing a lower level of football, mostly against non-scholarship types.
This might have become more evident when he ran a 4.8 in the 40 at the combine.
Along the line, the Bears also expressed some interest in late-round possibility Dalton Keene of Virginia Tech. Keene made 59 catches for 748 yards and eight TDs in three years and measured at 6-4, 251. He ran the 40 in 4.71.
Bears NFL Draft 2020: Tight Ends
The Tight Ends Room: Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, Adam Shaheen, Jesper Horsted, J.P. Holtz, Ben Braunecker, Dax Raymond, Darion Clark, Eric Saubert.
Sports Illustrated's Top of the Line: Cole Kmet, Notre Dame; Adam Trautman, Dayton; Hunter Bryant, Washington.
When Bears Can Pick One: Starting at Pick No. 43 in Round 2.
Possibles Early: Kmet; Trautman; Brycen Hopkins, Purdue; Harrison Bryant, Florida Atlantic.
Possibles Later: Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Missouri; Thaddeus Moss, LSU; Dalton Keene, Virginia Tech.
Get Used to It: If the Bears don't take Kmet, the Packers might. Kevin Hanson of SI has projected the Bears will get to see a lot of Kmet in the future because they'll use the 62nd pick overall, three from the end of Round 2 on Kmet as the first tight end to be taken.
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