With the Chicago Bears finally getting a win in preseason and the starters playing a full quarter for the first time on Saturday night, the Bears offense showed flashes of what fans could potentially see in 2018. However, throughout the first quarter on Saturday night, the connection between two players really stood out: Mitchell Trubisky and Trey Burton.
Often times, in the NFL, a quarterbacks best friend tends to be the teams best wide receiver. Currently, quarterbacks such as Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton, and Ben Roethlisberger all have wide receivers as their primary targets. This offseason, when the Bears signed Allen Robinson in free agency, many assumed that Robinson would be the number one target in Chicago.
With the Bears having a franchise quarterback of their own, could Mitchell Trubisky’s go-to target actually be tight end Trey Burton?
Although the Bears offense is still in the process of gelling, the way Burton and Trubisky played on Saturday looked as if the two were in midseason form.
Burton had four receptions for 45 yards, averaging 11.3 yards per reception. On the first drive, Trubisky and Burton connected three times. Then on the first play of the second quarter, the two connected for a seven-yard touchdown pass.
In Matt Nagy’s offense, tight ends are used heavily. Last year, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce logged 83 receptions and 1038 receiving yards, averaging 12.5 yards per reception. Burton was brought in due to his ability to be both a receiving and blocking tight end.
Burton’s first catch of the game was a simple screen pass out of the backfield. On that particular play, the Bears had three players on the field who could quickly develop into lethal weapons in 2018: Anthony Miller, Tarik Cohen, and Trey Burton.
This here represents the mismatch aspect of Matt Nagy’s offense as the Bears have three playmakers on the field at once who could make a game-changing play.
The best thing about Burton is that he’s fairly young at just 26 years old with ample room to improve. In Philadelphia, Burton was stuck playing behind guys such as Zach Ertz and Brent Celek. However, last year he was given an extended chance to show what he could do.
As of Saturday night, the chemistry that Burton and Trubisky have built so far clearly flashes potential of the two quickly becoming a potent quarterback-tight end duo. If the two can continue this into the Bears third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, it could only be a matter of time until a Trubisky and Burton form a connection that NFL defensive coordinators will end up having to game plan against.