Chicago Bears lose to Denver Broncos: Offensive grades

Tight Ends: D

For a position group that could be one of the Chicago Bears’ best on offense, one wouldn’t expect them to be as pedestrian as they were yesterday. Yet, here we are.

Veteran tight end Zach Miller, last year’s starter, didn’t catch either of his two targets. Highly anticipated free agent signee Dion Sims caught his only target for six yards. And monster rookie tight end Adam Shaheen disappointed yesterday, catching only one pass for three yards. After him, the back-end combination of Daniel Brown and Ben Braunecker each added one catch from Trubisky, posting 10 total yards.

If it wasn’t for some timely contributions late in the game with the Bears driving to tie the game, this could’ve been considered a failing effort for the tight ends on the whole. But hey: let’s recognize positives too.

While the struggles of the first two are probably more about the ineffectiveness of Glennon and Sanchez than about them specifically, Shaheen doesn’t quite get that excuse. After all, he played several snaps with the red-hot Trubisky, catching one ball from him. But he should have caught two. His end zone drop, while wiped out due to a defensive penalty, won’t escape notice here.

In the end, the rookie tight end’s performance shouldn’t turn anyone off regarding his potential in the same way that one good preseason game from Trubisky doesn’t mean he’s Aaron Rodgers. But if Shaheen intends to play as a rookie, he has to shine in the red zone and make the kinds of catches he makes in practice in live action. That’s how he’ll make his name to start his career. Hopefully, he’ll get back to playing the way he’s capable of next week.