Has the stock gone up or down on Chicago Bears tight end J.P. Holtz?
The tight end position was the one with all of the talk for the Chicago Bears in 2020. They moved on from Trey Burton and brought in Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham, and Demetrius Harris to fill depth. These three are going to lead the way on the depth chart.
However, when you talk about the Chicago Bears depth chart, there surely is a national pundit you heard mention that they have nine tight ends on the current roster.
So, with eight others to compete with and three tight ends with more invested in them, it is hard to wonder where Holtz will fit into the roster. He is going to have to show a lot this summer in a training camp situation that is briefer than in past years.
The Bears showed how much they trusted Holtz by adding three players above him, but they do need to add a fourth and potentially fifth tight end. Could that be Holtz?
It very well could. To fill a role as a depth player, you need to provide value in ways that the others do not. Holtz can find a way to do that.
According to PFF, he aligned in the backfield as an H-back for 73 snaps, or 22% of the snaps he played in 2019. He is unlikely to play the same number of snaps overall in 2020, but a much higher rate could be in the backfield.
J.P. Holtz also motioned out wide or into the slot on 44 snaps, spending 34% of his snaps away from the line of scrimmage. The Bears are not going to carry a full back, so to have someone who can spend a good portion of his snaps as a full back and motion out wide, Holtz all of the sudden provides value.
Holtz also played 161 snaps on special teams. Every potential pro in his favor is going to go a long way. In an offseason when the depth tight ends all took a hit, the special teams and H-back ability that Holtz displays gives him the best chance of any to make an impact in 2020.