Chicago Bears 2022 NFL Draft UDFA Profile: Jake Tonges
The Chicago Bears used one of their UDFA signings to bring in Jake Tonges, a tight end from California. Last season Tonges recorded 22 catches for 278 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, he has 47 catches, 620 yards, and four touchdowns.
Who is Jake Tonges?
Jake Tonges redshirted his freshman season, then got onto the field as a special teams asset early into his career. By the end of his redshirt sophomore season, he was a starter. 2020 was a short season for the Pac-12, but Tonges bounced back and had a career year for his redshirt senior season.
Will Jake Tonges make Chicago Bears roster?
The good thing for Tonges is that he is not entering a loaded tight end room. Ryan Griffin and Cole Kmet are pretty established, but James O’Shaugnessy has bounced around and Jesper Horsted has not made his mark on the NFL yet.
Four tight ends are likely to make the Bears roster, so Jake Tonges is going to be competing against O’Shaugnessy and Horsted, and will be given a chance to win the job.
When you compare the profile of Jake Tonges to Jesper Horsted coming out of college, there is reason for optimism with Tonges. Below you can see their RAS scores coming out of college.
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Tonges is a bit heavier, although they both are on the lighter side. Still, Tonges is also more athletic overall. It will be interesting to see if he can flash this on the field and if the coaches can buy into more than Horsted, who has flashed at times.
What may give Horsted the nod is his NFL experience. When you look at Tonges and his profile, he is a bit more of a blocking type than the athletic pass catcher that Horsted is, even with the difference in athleticsm.
Horsted was used in the passing game more and has more overall experience there. Tonges is bigger and has a great chance to be a better blocker, but if they are looking for the better pass catcher, right now it is Horsted.
Next. UDFA Profile: Derick Bush. dark
At the same time, the athletic profile of Tonges suggests he could bring more upside in the receiving game than he showed, so we will see if the Chicago Bears can pull that out of him and if he can push Jesper Horsted.