Chicago Bears 2017 mock draft: Full seven rounds

Michael Roberts, TE, Toledo (6-foot-4, 263 pounds)

The Chicago Bears decided to get rid of Martellus Bennett. He became a poison in the locker room and the team could not have that. I understand that move, especially in light of what they did when they had Brandon Marshall.

The problem with that move was that it left the offense with Zach Miller. They had a chance to pick up a tight end to provide depth, but failed to do so. They went into the season with Miller as the number one tight end, but not much else behind him.

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Of course, as is his history, Miller went down due to an injury. That just about wiped out the Bears quarterbacks’ options, especially in the red zone. That prevented them from getting some easy scores.

Roberts is a big-play tight end. Of his career catches, 80 percent went for first downs. In 2016, 35.5 percent of his catches went for touchdowns. This is something the Bears desperately need.

Roberts is a big target, and he has huge hands. Those mitts measure in at 11-and-5/8-inches. To put that into perspective, a football measures 11 inches. That makes catching the ball easier. “You still have to have a lot of concentration,” Roberts said. “But once it’s in my hands, it’s usually not going anywhere.”

He is a good, not great, blocker. His pass blocking technique needs a little work. He is a better run blocker. Sometimes he rounds out his routes, so he needs to work on that.

Roberts has gone through more in his life than most other players. He’s dealt with his father in jail, discipline problem at elementary school, attention deficit disorder, and a speech impediment. Later, his grandmother died of cancer and his younger brother died in an accidental shooting. This made him mature a lot quicker.

Coming from a small school puts doubts in some scouts, but he played in the Senior Bowl and did just fine. Now his second chance to open eyes is at the NFL Combine. He will show that he is NFL ready, and the Chicago Bears should look at him.