Tight end is currently giving the Chicago Bears the most headaches of any position at training camp. That includes the kickers. Nothing has gone right for the major players at that position. Trey Burton has now missed four-straight practices due to “sluggishness.” Likely caused by his lack of conditioning due to his recovery from sports hernia surgery. Adam Shaheen also dealt with persistent back problems that kept him out for multiple practices as well. Then when he did return, he suffered from issues with dropping passes.
While neither player is expected to get released this year, it no doubt creates some tension. Tight end is a vital piece to Matt Nagy’s offense. Fans found that out the hard way when Burton missed the playoff game against Philadelphia and Shaheen was ineffective. This is why it was no surprise the team signed not one but two notable tight end prospects on the undrafted free agent market back in April.
The one most people have focused on lately is Dax Raymond. The Utah State product flashed a lot of upside as a pass catcher and was highly coveted by other teams. However, it seems he’s not the one the Bears are most excited about. Kevin Gilbride, their tight ends coach, told Adam Hoge of WGN that people need to stop sleeping on Ian Bunting.
“I watched film on him from both schools,” Bears tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride told me this week. “You always saw the body control, you always saw his ability to get himself open. I just think it was more the offenses that the teams were running more so than them not trying to throw the ball to him.”
Chicago Bears believe ability matters more than production
Ian Bunting was basically an unknown coming out of college. All anybody could gather about him was he’d been a benchwarmer in Michigan for three years, then transferred to Cal where he had an okay but unremarkable senior season. A total of 18 catches for 195 yards. At this point, most people know Bunting better for his music videos on YouTube than his actual football exploits.
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Then again, lack of college production hasn’t stopped the Bears from pursuing players before. Javon Wims is a perfect example. His numbers at Georgia were average at best. Yet the Bears still felt his natural ability rated much higher than the 7th round pick he became. Now Wims is dominating training camp and appears poised for big things in 2019. Akiem Hicks never had more than 4.5 sacks his first four seasons in football. That didn’t stop the team from handing him a favorable contract in 2016 free agency.
Now he’s a Pro Bowler.
This is not to say that Bunting will reach such levels, but it’s a reminder that this team has proven on multiple occasions they can find talent in low places. Bunting has reportedly looked strong in practices down in Bourbonnais. So much so that expectations are he could beat out Raymond for that fourth tight end spot. After that, given the uncertainty with Burton and Shaheen, more opportunities could lay ahead.
