The tight end position has become a vital wild card

for NFL offenses http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-mike-ditka-jersey , and Matt Nagy has shown he knows how to use the position. Where does Chicago rank?" From The Desk Of...Roster AnalysisNFC North Roster Comparisons: Tight EndsNew,10commentsThe tight end position has become a vital wild card for NFL offenses, and Matt Nagy has shown he knows how to use the position. Where does Chicago rank?CDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:NFC North Roster Comparisons: Tight EndsTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesThis is the third installment in a series to look at the rosters in the NFC North. I am trying to set aside my fan biases and look at these rosters objectively. Ish. Having considered quarterbacks and running backs, I’m not turning my attention to tight ends. 1). MinnesotaKyle Rudolph was just signed to a major contract extension, and he deserves it. Rudolph probably does not get enough credit for how well-rounded he is as a tight end, in my opinion. 9th in DYAR, 15th in DVOA, and his pass blocking is solid. His run blocking has struggled, at times, but with the Minnesota line it’s probably fair to say that he is not the real problem, there. The two-time Pro Bowler leads a talented tight end group for the Vikings.Irv Smith needs polish. He’s not as good at blocking as he should be, and he could use more power. I don’t love his feet as a receiver or as a blocker. However, he is a solid piece, and with Rudolph in place ahead of him, he has room to develop. I think Tyler Conklin is probably a bit better than his statline showed, but that still doesn’t mean he’s destined for more than a job as a situational role-player. The rest of the roster is more of the same, but the 1-2 punch of Rudolph and Smith is concerning.2). DetroitDetroit has overhauled their tight end position, and it will be interesting to see how it goes for them. Logan Thomas is an interesting player, and he adds a wrinkle to the Lions’ offense. Jesse James is a veteran journeyman Womens Richard Dent Jersey , and he could either continue seasons of three or four hundred yards or he could explode, but he’s at least depth. Jerome Cunningham and Michael Roberts are probably not going to change the way defenses play. The Lions also picked up Isaac Nauta (who was projected to the 5th or 6th round), probably purely as a value selection, in the final round of the draft.However, Detroit picked up probably the best tight end in the draft in T.J. Hockenson. Draft profiles seem uncertain whether they want to praise his intelligence, his blocking, his athleticism, or his ability to gain separation. Having watched a lot of his play, I have no such quandary. A lot of his gifts are impressive, but what really stands out about him is his awareness of the game. It’s a tough call deciding where to place the Lions because projecting players directly out of the draft is problematic, and because tight ends sometimes take an extra year to really find their way. In this case, I’m assuming Hockenson only shows part of his full potential in his first year and then grows into a more complete player in 2020. As a result, I have Detroit’s group edging Chicago just a bit, but if Hockenson struggles this group could easily be last.3). ChicagoThis is probably the weakest position group for the Bears. Trey Burton is turning out to be a solid player for the Chicago Bears, and his 659 yards in 2018 more than doubled his production in 2017. He seems really good at catching those little trick passes that Nagy loves to use. However, nobody is going to mistake him for Travis Kelce.Bradley Sowell and Ben Braunecker are reliable utility pieces. Ellis Richardson, Ian Bunting, Jesper Horsted, and Dax Raymond are the sort of roster-churn players that Pace loves to sort through Dan Hampton Jersey , but it’s way too early to claim anything meaningful about any of them. Meanwhile, there’s Adam Shaheen. His 17 career receptions are underwhelming for a second-round draft pick halfway through his rookie contract, and while he is a game blocker when he’s not falling over, any time the phrase “when he’s not falling over” needs to be added to a player profile, it’s concerning.4). Green BayThe Packers have a mix of talent, but it is not evenly distributed. The good news is that Jimmy Graham remains one of the best over-30 wide receivers playing tight end in the game. However, he was not a Top 25 tight end by either DYAR or DVOA, and while Football Outsiders does not track the impact of a tight end in blocking, let’s be honest and admit that Graham has never been famed for his contributions there.I cannot claim to be an expert on Jace Sternberger, but most draft profiles claim that he is willing to serve as a blocker but that he lacks the strength and leverage necessary to do so at the pros, at least for now, but that he makes up for it with his tools as a receiver. In other words, he sounds like he’s more of a replacement for Graham than a truly different tool. Then there are guys like Pharoah McKever and Evan Bayliss, who might turn into something but are not likely to do more than fill a role. If Sternberger turns out to be worthy of a 3rd-round pick, then Green Bay might be better equipped here than Chicago.However, for now the Packers have slightly less reliable depth and Burton is on the rise while Graham seems to be on the decline.Up next: Wide Receivers Supposedly defense wins championships, but that truism has been contested and debated enough that even die-hard proponents should be willing to look at the evidence and admit that things get complicated in January. The reality seems to be (shockingly) that both offense and defense carry equal weight.However, even if it’s not true in general that defense wins championships, it is true that the Bears won the NFC North on the basis of their defense http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-brian-urlacher-jersey , and if they advance in the playoffs it will be because the defense is carrying most of the load.That leads to a simple question--is the offense good enough to help this team win, is it simply a neutral piece that can stay out of the way, or is it actually going to be the thing that keeps Chicago from advancing? Here are some basic stats, followed by a bit of commentary.The QuarterbackMitchell Trubisky currently has a 96.0 passer rating, which ties him for 15th in the NFL (with Derek Carr). His adjusted net yards per attempt are at 6.61 (17th). As a playoff quarterback, he is ahead of only Dak Prescott (94.7 passer rating, 5.94 ANY/A) and either Lamar Jackson (84.9 passer rating and 5.93 ANY/A) or Marcus Mariota (92.3 passer rating and 5.75 ANY/A). That’s the list. He will be one of the least efficient quarterbacks in the playoffs. Given that he’s 20th or 21st in the NFL per Football Outsiders’ metrics, it’s fair to say that he is likely going to be a neutral piece in terms of net results. He might make a couple of amazing plays that sustain the Bears’ on a given drive, but he is just as likely to falter. The best summary I have read of Trubisky comes from Mike Tanier:While not exactly true, the sentiment feels strangely accurate. However, if the offense manages to be a neutral piece instead of a burden, Trubisky will be part of the reason why.The Running GameJordan Howard has the sixth-most rushing attempts in the league with 229 attempts (53% of the Bears’ 431 total rushes). Unfortunately, his 3.6 yards per attempt place him at 39th in the NFL for yards per attempt (among those who have at least 100 attempts). To give a sense of how bad that is, the worst team in the league right now in terms of yards per rushing attempt is the Arizona Cardinals, and they are averaging 3.8 yards per attempt. Howard is probably getting too many attempts to justify based purely on production, but of course a real game is more complicated than a boxscore.Meanwhile, Tarik Cohen only has 94 rushing attempts but checks in at a respectable 4.5 yards per attempt, which at least ties him for 26th in the league. Blame the blocking scheme, Howard’s lack of versatility Womens Leonard Floyd Jersey , or injuries to the interior line if you want. What matters is that Howard is getting the opportunity to touch the ball and it’s not going well when that happens. Cohen is also getting a chance to run with the ball, but when he does so he is not tilting the field reliably. He has good plays and the other kind. The Bears are running the ball a lot. In fact, taking out quarterback runs for all teams, the Bears rank 8th in the NFL for total rushing attempts. They just don’t have a strong running attack, and they actually run more often than could be accounted for by their success. Mostly, they are running to control the clock and to vary the pace of the attack. They are running because Nagy is finding ways to keep the running game relevant. The Bears are not running because as a weapon it is working very well, and the effectiveness of the rushing attack could be a real liability. Receiving WeaponsFinally, the Bears average 11 yards per reception, 19th in the NFL. They spread the ball around, meaning that Allen Robinson’s 754 receiving yards is leading the team (34th in the NFL). His rate of13.7 yards per reception also leads the team, even if it places him 35th in the NFL. By contrast, Tarik Cohen’s 69 receptions leads the team, even if 28 other players in the NFL have caught the ball more often (Taylor Gabriel has actually been targeted one more time, but he has six fewer catches).Football Outsiders does not credit the Bears with a single receiver in the top forty in terms of defense-adjusted yards above replacement, and Anthony Miller’s 38th-place finish among receivers in terms of DVOA is the highest for the Chicago. Trey Burton is the “leader” among the Bears for relative efficiency, in that he is 25th among tight ends in terms of DYAR and 27th in terms of DVOA.In other words, the Bears do not have a game-breaking weapon. Still.SummaryWhat all of this means, in the sense of a total picture, is that unless the offense steps up Eric Kush Jersey , it is not going to be an asset in the playoffs. Cohen is exciting to watch, and he will have individual “boom” plays that can help, but on the whole he is simply a good player, not a top weapon either as a receiver or as a running back. In fact, both as a whole and as individuals, the Bears’ offense is more about doing just enough to win, not about putting games away. Chicago’s offense ranks 22nd in terms of DVOA, though that drops to 29th when only the last six weeks are considered.Trubisky is playing well, and he is showing progress. However, while he is not going to be the least effective quarterback in the playoffs, as he is now, he will likely be outmatched by any rival quarterback he is going to face. The team cannot depend on him to win a playoff game, even if he does have the potential to sustain individual drives or to provide wrinkles that other teams must account for. The players around Trubisky are more of the same--they are developing in a new offense, and their head coach is putting them in a position to make the most of their talents. At this point, though, the team is going to need to hope that the defense remains dominant and that the offense stays out of the way.