Chicago Bears TE Adam Shaheen: 2017 Fantasy Value

The Bears invested a second round pick in tight end Adam Shaheen, but will that translate for fantasy owners in 2017?

Scouts absolutely fell in love with tight end Adam Shaheen. He was a man against boys at Ashland where he played his college ball. He flat-out dominated the lesser competition. But with that domination also came NFL size- amazing NFL size. Shaheen stands 6’6 and checks in at 280 lbs, but he also has great athleticism and incredible hands.

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Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace saw what these scouts saw and fell in love with Shaheen as well. The Bears made sure he was going to be a part of their future plans and nabbed him in the second round. Whether Shaheen can make a dent on the fantasy radar is a longshot however for a multitude of reasons.

First, making the jump from Ashland to the NFL isn’t going to be easy. Shaheen isn’t even used to SEC or Big 10 competition, he’s never squared off against players this fast and strong and it’s going to be an adjustment. Shaheen is going to have to use his size and skill to find success, and won’t be able to simply rely on his overwhelming advantages like he had in college.

Second, the Bears QB situation is a question mark. It might be satisfactory. Mike Glennon will be starting in September and he could be more than capable of leading the offense. However, Glennon may not have the ability the Bears hope and he may struggle. If Mark Sanchez or Connor Shaw see the field after Glennon, it certainly is a toss-up what kind of quarterback play the Bears will have and first-round pick Mitch Trubisky is also a question mark.

Finally, the Bears also have two capable tight ends in front of him. Zach Miller is a quarterback favorite with reliable hands and Dion Sims is a solid tight end himself. This will give the Bears the option to bring Shaheen in at TE3 and he may not even see the field on offense the first few weeks of the season.

The Bears can pick their spots with Shaheen and slowly bring him along. He may never emerge past the TE3 spot this season, but the Bears will rely on him to start making an impact in 2018 and certainly have him penciled in as their every down starter by 2019.

What does this mean for fantasy owners? It means this season, Shaheen isn’t worth a roster spot. There are plenty of other rookie tight ends worth taking a shot at before Shaheen including OJ Howard, Evan Engram and David Njoku. Jordan Leggett of the Jets is also probably worth drafting before Shaheen this season as well.

If you are in a dynasty league and have the roster space to stash Shaheen for a season or two and see if he develops, he’s worth drafting, but in re-draft leagues and even in your standard keeper leagues, Shaheen is worth passing on and keeping an eye on him from a distance.

Projecting Adam Shaheen’s 2017 season- 12 catches, 132 yards, 11.0 YPC, 1 TD

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