The Chicago Bears are continuing their shuffle at tight end as the season approaches its final stretch. Trey Burton was already placed on injured reserve, ending a massively disappointing season. He’s now being joined by Adam Shaheen, possibly one of the most overhyped failures in recent Bears draft history. A 2nd round pick out of Ashland, he was billed as “Baby Gronk” by experts. With his third season over, he’s yet to go over 300 total yards in his career.
This has forced the Bears to start granting opportunities to others. Waiver wire pickup J.P. Holtz has carved himself a role as a H-back who serves as a lead blocker for David Montgomery. He’s since been joined by undrafted rookie Jesper Horsted who made a big touchdown catch in the win over Detroit on Thanksgiving. Just his second professional appearance. The team doesn’t appear done though.
At the same time Shaheen goes on IR, they signed a third-year tight end off the streets by the name of Eric Saubert. Hailing from Drake College, he was a 5th round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2017. He had a reputation for being a great athlete with size and speed but raw development as a route runner and blocker. A true boom-or-bust type of player.
Chicago Bears either have something or nothing in Saubert
There is no question that Saubert has pass-catching prowess. He’s made some nice grabs during his appearances in the preseason over the past three years but hasn’t been able to earn much playing time. To be fair he’s landed in situations that didn’t offer much opportunity. Atlanta had Austin Hooper, New England had Rob Gronkowski, and Oakland had both Darren Waller and Foster Moreau.
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This marks the first place he’s been where the competition is literally wide open. If he can channel his ability and embrace the work required to improve, he may finally get that chance. Experts always felt he had sky-high potential.
“Good combination of size and speed. Gets into routes with good quickness from the slot. Adjusts route to defender and does a good job of setting up his pattern breaks. Good separation acceleration. Man amongst boys in red zone where he dominated lesser competition. Posted 17 touchdowns over last two seasons. Has ability to make acrobatic catches when he’s focused.”
The odds of this actually working out aren’t high. Players who already worked for three different teams usually won’t turn into anything more than decent depth. Still, Saubert is only 25-years old. He still has time to flip that switch.
