Free Agent Warnings, Tight End Importance, Scheming Trubisky to Success, and Other Bears Bullets

Mar 09, 2020

I could get used to Sundays on the grill with my pops and sharing adult beverages with the neighbors. Hello, spring! I’ve missed you!

The NFL’s “legal tampering” period in which teams can contact the representatives of free-agents-to-be opens up a week from today. Do you know where your free agent targets are?

In a collaborative effort between ESPN and Pro Football Focus, Sam Monson goes position-by-position seeking the most overrated and underrated free agents. And if you’re a Bears fan shopping in the deep end of the tight end pool, Monson offers up a buyer beware sign. Austin Hooper is pegged as the most overrated free agent tight end in what seems to be a pretty big class. Hooper graded out well by PFF’s standards (his 78.3 grade was worthy of a top-10 finish among players at his position). But his production – according to Monson – was largely built on taking advantage of what opposing defenses were giving him. Monson points to Hooper’s 66.5 grade when targeted in single coverage – nearly 30 points below the league’s upper crust – as evidence.

Hooper is a two-time Pro Bowler whose playing time and production has increased with each season he has been in the pros, but I can’t pretend like I don’t have any concerns about him moving forward. Playing on an offense where you’re catching balls from Matt Ryan while Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley are drawing attention elsewhere has its perks. Among them, being positioned to scoop up chunks of yardage while defenses are occupied elsewhere. Overall, I still like what Hooper brings to the table. The ability to find soft spots in zones and take what’s given can be valuable. But for the expected cost, I can understand why there is cause for pause regarding Hooper’s future.

The Bears should certainly be familiar with the concept of free agency risks, particularly at the tight end position. Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski lists the league’s most overpaid player, landing on Trey Burton as the Bears’ representative. It’s tough to argue with the placement here, especially since Burton was a virtual no-show in 2019 due to groin injuries slowing him down and ultimately sending him to season-ending injured reserve. But I feel as if there are times when people unfairly lump 2018 and 2019 together. Save for the injury that forced him out of the playoff loss to the Eagles, Burton’s 2018 was mostly a success story. Burton set career bests in catches (54), receiving yards (569), and touchdowns (6) as he played all 16 games. Mitch Trubisky certainly liked throwing to him, posting a 73.9 percent completion rate and 113.9 passer rating when targeting Burton. See how important it is to have a worthwhile tight end in your offense?

That said, Chicago really needs to fix the tight end position, ASAP. I’m not saying Burton can’t be part of the solution, but relying on him to be a top option after an injury riddled season is a less-than-ideal plan of attack.

And it’s not like it was a bunch of dump-offs, Trubisky averaged 8.0 yards/attempt when throwing to Burton. That’s pretty decent.

A list of offseason tight end priorities: Get Burton healthy, supplement the position in free agency with someone who isn’t going to tie up too much of the team’s cap space, further supplement the position with a prospect in the draft.

ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson writes about scheme being the thing that could salvage Trubisky’s future. There’s some belief that cleaning up the offense, focusing more on what Trubisky does well, and taking the onus off him being the triggerman by featuring more David Montgomery in the running game will help. And I don’t have much of an argument against that. But for the scheme being the thing that rescues Trubisky’s plummeting stock, he still needs to read coverages better and connect with open receivers — two things he struggled to do with any consistency.

The Bears have a top-10 Twitter account, according to the folks at Complex. I tip my cap to the fingertips pressing send at AtChicagoBears, especially during an up-and-down 8-8 campaign. And while their ranking dropped from No. 2 on Complex’s list, it’s good to be certified top-10 in something. Last year wasn’t easy for anyone associated with the team. But AtChicagoBears still brought the #FireEmoji tweets.

Some news on the Bears beat:

#WhiteSox fans, hello again. #Bears fans, I’m not going anywhere. And don’t worry, The Hoge & Jahns Podcast will continue (details to come). Excited to get started at @NBCSChicago! https://t.co/CGHzJpjjnl
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) March 9, 2020

Even though I’ve been following the story, here is a sentence I never expected to read, via ESPN/The Associated Press: “Casey Urlacher, the brother of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges alleging he was part of an offshore sports gambling business.” Urlacher, who has been the mayor of Metttawa, Ill., since being elected in 2013, will fight the charges, though he has already given up his spot on the Illinois Civil Service Commission.

Still laughing:

“The season has turned toward development, so it doesn’t really make any sense for Boylen not to start Coby White. I mean, since the All-Star break he has averaged the most points per game among rookies. Like that’s more than Zion, Ja Morant, and … “
pic.twitter.com/al1HLmII9Q
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 8, 2020

As coronavirus concerns grow, I hope people will continue to take it seriously. From a sports perspective, I’m sure we’ll be keeping eyes on stuff like this:

Will coronavirus outbreak impact 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas? https://t.co/lYyIsdzEas pic.twitter.com/LSJ5OyTqjK

— NJ.com (@njdotcom) March 6, 2020

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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