Chicago Bears: An early look at offensive 2020 draft needs

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Tight End

This could easily be one of the biggest needs on the team. This position is a mess. From poor drafting to poor free agent signings, the tight end position has hurt the Bears over the course of the last few seasons and must be addressed.

First, Adam Shaheen is not an NFL tight end. We knew it from the moment he was drafted but we held out hope that he would be good someday. But someday has come and gone and it’s time to move on. I know it’s going to be hard for General Manager Ryan Pace to admit he made a mistake but for the betterment of the team, he needs to cut his losses and let Shaheen go.

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The same could be said for Trey Burton. The Bears paid a lot of money to sign him and he has not worked out. He’s either injured or very ineffective when he’s been on the field. If the Bears can afford it, they should cut Burton and get on with finding someone else.

That leaves Ben Braunecker and Jesper Horsted as the Bears remaining tight ends. Braunecker is a nice addition and is serviceable but he’s not a true every-down starting tight end. The jury is still out on Horsted right now and we will hear a lot more about him as the season goes on.

Let us say the Bears decide to let Burton and Shaheen go. That leaves the tight end spot barren of talent (well more barren than it was before). They will have to fill the need for a tight end either through the draft or through free agency. If there was an affordable yet solid player at the position out there in the free-agent crop then Chicago should jump on that.

However, if they decide to go through the draft to get their tight end of the future, they need to take him early like in the second round. They don’t need a small school guy either. They must find someone with experience in a big-time program that can play and is relatively injury-free.

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