Chicago Bears: Adam Shaheen’s versatility, route-running could get him on the field quickly

Adam Shaheen’s size and sure hands get all the attention, but it might be his other skills that could help him see the field early for the Chicago Bears.

Chicago Bears training camp may be a month away, but the early returns on Adam Shaheen already look pretty good.

During yesterday’s OTA practice, the rookie tight end put safety Harold Jones-Quartey on a poster with a twisting touchdown catch. Needless to say, the play drew some pretty glowing reviews from those in attendance. That’s what Bears coaches and fans want to see from the man dubbed “Baby Gronk” due to his monstrous size and pass-catching ability at the tight end position.

If he aims to make an impact this season, he’ll need to do more than outmuscle and outhustle defenders. His blocking must improve, and, like all rookies, he must keep working to grasp the nuances of an NFL offense.

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However, Shaheen may see the field in pass-catching situations early in his career due to some underrated skills: specifically, his ability to line up in multiple positions and his red zone route-running.

Versatility

While the rookie obviously has much to learn from NFL coaching, the Bears can utilize some of Shaheen’s skills right away if they choose to. For one thing, though Ashland didn’t always have him running complex routes, they did move him around in their offense to create matchups. So don’t be surprised if Dowell Loggains has packages where Shaheen lines up as an X-receiver.

Want to see what that might look like? Of course you do:

Like many other prominent pass-catching tight ends, Shaheen’s versatility could allow him to be used like a true receiver rather than just as a traditional in-line, hand-on-the-ground player. Without a doubt, it gives the Bears more diversity offensively and could make Mike Glennon’s, and eventually Mitch Trubisky‘s, job easier.

And, should he prove he can take the fight to NFL corners, he might eventually graduate to something like this:

The Bears have certainly had good tight ends in recent years—Greg Olsen, Martellus Bennett, and Zach Miller come to mind. But they may never have had one quite like Shaheen. Depending on how quickly he adapts to the pro game, he could turn into a full-blown match-up nightmare really quickly.

Routes in the Red Zone

Naturally, though, when incorporating a 6’6”, 280-pound pass-catcher into your offense, the first thing you’re probably thinking about is how to use that behemoth inside the 20 yard line. As such, expect the Bears to use Shaheen as a red zone monster in his first year.

His size and capable hands will serve him well when throwing windows shrink against NFL defenses. Let’s be real: while NFL competition will dwarf what Shaheen faced in college, he’s still roughly the size of a 4-3 defensive end with 4.7 speed. That’s no walk in the park to cover.

But Shaheen showed he can do more than just play big in the red zone in college. And that potentially makes him a considerable threat, especially for an offense that ranked 28^th in points per game last year. Watch this route and touchdown catch:

If you liked that, how about a second helping?

In other news, both defenses are still out there looking around for Shaheen.

No, he won’t regularly leave NFL defensive backs in the dust the way he did to his Division-II competition. But one can’t deny that he has some impressive ability as a pass-catcher outside of just being massive and sure-handed. Clearly, the Bears thought so too, which is why they took him in the second round.

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Once the pads come on, we’ll really see how Shaheen responds to the speed and physicality of the NFL game. And beyond that, look for him to play plenty with the Chicago Bears’ second and third offenses in preseason games. For now, though, feel free to stay excited about Shaheen. Hopefully, the future holds great things for him and his roommate.