The Chicago Bears may be in the market for some help at tight end this offseason. Could a tight end from just north of the border, who is coming out in the 2018 NFL Draft, be someone that interests them?
The 2018 NFL Draft is creeping ever closer, and the Chicago Bears have a lot of needs that they must address this offseason. With rumors swirling that tight end Dion Sims could be let go, the Bears could be in the market for another good tight end. Sure, they have Adam Shaheen and now Trey Burton, but they would probably want a couple more guys that they could rely upon.
Enter Troy Fumagalli.
Fumagalli hails from the University of Wisconsin where he earned several honors and accolades. He was named a second-team All-Big Ten member as a junior and was given the Cotton Bowl MVP award. In his senior year with the Badgers, he earned the Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year, second team All-American Honors and was a finalist for the Bulsworth Trophy as well as the John Mackey Award. In 2014 he was named a consensus All-Big Ten honorable mention tight end while in 2014 he was named an Academic All-Big Ten player.
There is something unusual about Fumagalli that should be mentioned up front. He is missing a finger on one of his hands, but this hasn’t hurt his ability to block or catch passes.
Fumagalli didn’t do any running or physical drills at the combine. He did come in at six feet five inches and weighed 247 pounds and had 14 reps on the bench press.
Statistically speaking, Fumagalli played in a total of 48 games while at Wisconsin catching 135 passes for 1627 yards with an average of 12.1 yards per catch. He did not have many touchdowns during his time with the Badgers scoring just seven in the four years he played.
Now, let’s look at some of the strengths and weaknesses for Fumagalli, who he compares to in the pro game and what he might be able to do for the Chicago Bears, should they select him in the draft.