Chicago Bears: Comparing the 2019 tight end situation to 2020

The Chicago Bears added multiple tight ends to create a competition.

To say the Chicago Bears‘ tight ends in 2019 disappointed would be an understatement. Not a single tight end on their roster tallied 100 receiving yards or more over the entire season.

Yes, you read that right. The entire season. Not one game.

Nobody in that group could stay healthy and that led to a variety of issues with the offense as a whole. Clearly, Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy saw that as a major concern and addressed it greatly this past offseason. They created a huge competition for limited spots that will involve cutting half or more than the current tight ends.

As a little background, the tight end group for the Bears’ offense is greatly important. Just for a clear standpoint, Trey Burton was very reliable during the 2018 season and the Bears’ offense was very solid that season. The Bears didn’t have a solid ‘Y’ tight end, but they still did well.

The tight end in the Andy Reid-Esque offense (example: Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs) involves the tight end position greatly. Both of these teams were top 5 teams in terms of 12 personnel usage (two tight end sets). Yes, even the Chiefs with Travis Kelce used another tight end on the field at the same time.

It also isn’t a coincidence that both of these teams have an elite tight end, because both of these teams require a good to elite tight end to have the offense run through. Both Kelce and Zach Ertz led their teams in receiving yards this past season.

The tight end is also important because it creates a safe outlet for a young quarterback and helps him know that he has a safe, big target if he gets into trouble. A good tight end is very helpful to a young quarterback (Mitchell Trubisky).

So, a tight end, in an offense that revolves around great tight end play, on the Chicago Bears’ roster didn’t have 100 yards. Seems like an issue right?