Which Chicago Bears players saw their stock decline over the draft weekend?
The 2020 NFL draft does not only affect the players who go from college to Chicago Bears after the team drafted them. The players whose spots are being taken with each pick are also impacted.
Yesterday, we looked into players on the roster who saw their stock rise the most due to the 2020 NFL draft. Deon Bush seeing no drafted competition was undoubtedly a win.
So, who were the losers? Which players saw their status with the team take a hit due to the moves made on draft weekend?
5. All tight ends not name Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham, and Demetrius Harris
All of the jokes recently have been about how many tight ends are on the Chicago Bears roster. When the team saw injuries and busts at the position in 2019, and that is a critical component of the Matt Nagy offense, you saw them cycle through a group of tight ends, and add more to the mix.
However, they are going to keep four, and maybe five tight ends on their active roster at most. The Bears drafted Cole Kmet in the second round and gave Jimmy Graham a questionably high contract. These are locks. Considering Harris and his connection to Matt Nagy, and his choice to sign with Nagy and the Bears right after his release shows that he thinks Nagy has plans for him. He is a nice blocker and great TE3. So, the long list of options is going to go down to just one or two more players.
Adam Shaheen is the big loser, but we have known that he is very likely to be cut in training camp at the latest. Ben Braunecker has a head start on the fourth tight end spot, but he is still a loser of the weekend. Nagy gave him plenty of chances in the past two years and elected to ensure that is end-of-the-roster depth at the highest.
J.P. Holtz may even be ahead of Braunecker due to his ability to slide into the H-back role. Jesper Horsted has a cult following, while Darrion Clark and Eric Saubert were brought in for depth. None of these players are making the roster this year.