Chicago Bears: PFF ranks Adam Shaheen best tight end of Week 11

In his second week as a starter, Chicago Bears tight end Adam Shaheen graded out as the top performer at his position last weekend.

That Adam Shaheen breakout that Chicago Bears fans, including myself, have been hoping for?

It might slowly but surely be coming to fruition.

In his second NFL start, Shaheen had four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. This came after a promising game against the Green Bay Packers in which he caught both his targets for 39 yards.

After primarily being used as a blocker following a slow preseason, the Bears are finally letting Shaheen the Receiver out of the wrapping in the regular season. And he’s acquitting himself well thus far, catching all of his six targets in his last two games.

Turns out his development isn’t going unnoticed.

Pro Football Focus gave Shaheen a grade of 85.9 for his performance last Sunday, making him the highest-graded tight end in the league.

While PFF grades can be somewhat dubious at times, this one, in particular, seems to deserve a bit of notice. In particular, it speaks to Shaheen’s solid overall play in his extended role, including vastly improved blocking—his ability as a blocker was listed as a weakness coming out of Ashland.

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And after his struggles with catching the ball in preseason and some concerns about his ability to get open, he’s been showing that he can handle business in a starting role.

As such, look for his role to keep expanding for a team hoping to turn a corner offensively and carry some positive momentum into next season.

For his part, quarterback Mitch Trubisky already is developing a rapport with Shaheen as he earns more snaps. Their absolutely beautiful goal line connection on Sunday is evidence of that. And as Shaheen gets to work down the field more frequently, he can help provide more chunk plays like this one.

Next: Is it Adam Shaheen's time to shine?

No matter what metric you’re using, it’s clear that Shaheen is growing more comfortable each time he takes the field. Hopefully, we’ll see more and more of the dominance the Chicago Bears envisioned when they made him their second-round pick this year.

More performances like Sunday’s will certainly be welcome.