Chicago Bears Swing for the Fences with Selection of Tight End Adam Shaheen

The Chicago Bears took tight end Adam Shaheen in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Here is our instant reaction to the selection.

The Chicago Bears traded down from their early second round selection, falling down to the 45th overall pick. With that selection, the Bears took a shot on tight end Adam Shaheen who enters the league from Ashland University at the Division II level.

Shaheen is a big and athletic tight end who has massive upside at the next level. He is 6-foot-6, 278 pounds who runs extremely well for a man of his size. Shaheen can go up get the ball extremely well and has ridiculous run after catch ability.

Shaheen is a former college basketball player whose athletic upside is painfully obvious on the football field. Make no mistake about it, Adam Shaheen is a weapon in the receiving game. The Chicago Bears found themselves a ton of upside on the offensive side of the ball.

That being said, there is some real downside with this selection as well. While Shaheen is a big and strong man, he is not much of a blocker. For a guy at nearly 280 pounds, you would expect him to be able to get a strong punch and move people off of the line of scrimmage. However, Shaheen struggles as a run blocker.

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Also, there is are reasons to worry about his competition level. Shaheen dominated at Ashland, scoring 16 touchdowns last season alone. However, he was not exactly playing against top-level competition. Shaheen exploded at times and showed massive upside, but it is hard to properly evaluate him against the low-level of competition.

Ryan Pace and company did a nice of finding value with this selection. Shaheen undoubtedly has a ton of upside at the next level and will be a real playmaker for Mitch Trubisky in this offense as they grow together. A talented pass catching tight end can be a

A talented pass catching tight end can be a young quarterback’s best friend. Shaheen undoubtedly has the ability to make life easier on Trubisky whenever he takes the starting quarterback job over. The Bears added Dion Sims to be their blocking tight end in free agency this offseason. Now with Shaheen, they have a duo at the position that can do some real damage.

I would have rather seen the Bears take Quincy Wilson (who went next to the Indianapolis Colts) or Tyus Bowser (who went the pick after to the Baltimore Ravens), but I do like the selection of Shaheen here. Ryan Pace is putting his chips in the middle of the table with high-upside selections.