Chicago Bears Week 1: 5 players that could make surprise impact

Players who could make surprise impact, Chicago Bears @ Los Angeles Rams: Tyler HIgbee

Everybody wants to talk about Matthew Stafford and his loaded wide receiver room. Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and company present a tough matchup for the Bears’ secondary. However, tight end Tyler Higbee is someone who is often overlooked.

Higbee is an athletic tight end who can stretch the field, and the Bears have been putrid against his type over the past couple of seasons. It may have taken the Western Kentucky product until year four to break out, but he’s put up some respectable numbers in an offense with plenty of mouths to feed.

Over his last two seasons, Higbee has caught 113 passes for 1,255 yards and eight scores. He’s not someone fans would think the defense needs to game-plan around, but Higbee is the type who will suddenly make a big play and catch a defense sleeping.

In 2020, the Bears were the second-worst team in football, overall, against the tight end position. They gave up 88 receptions for 932 yards and 12 touchdowns over the course of the 2020 campaign.

Higbee could be targeted early and often in this one. Seeing how Ogletree excels in coverage, though, these two could be in for an entertaining matchup on Sunday night.