Bears Blitz

Published by Matt Eurich on July 2, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

In 2014, Martellus Bennett became the first Chicago Bears tight end to be named to the Pro Bowl since Mike Ditka back in 1965.

For many years in Chicago, the tight end position was viewed primarily as an extra offensive lineman, but that all changed when Bennett joined the organization in 2013. The young tight end gave quarterback Jay Cutler a big-bodied target in the middle of the field, and Bennett excelled in former head coach Marc Trestman‘s offense.

Trestman and his staff are no longer in Chicago, but Bennett and the rest of the tight end corps have a chance to flourish in new offensive coordinator Adam Gase’s scheme.

In addition to Bennett, the Bears currently have six other tight ends on the roster.

What does the depth chart currently look like at the tight end position as the team heads into training camp later this month? We explore that ahead. 

The Starter

Bennett heads into the 2015 season as the clear-cut favorite to be the team’s No. 1 tight end, but he has been fighting for a new contract all offseason.

The veteran tight end missed all of the team’s voluntary minicamps and OTAs earlier this offseason before rejoining the team for its mandatory minicamp last month.

“I’m always working on a new contract,” Bennett said when he met with the media for the first time this offseason, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “That’s everything. It’s all sides of business.”

Bennett signed a four-year, $20.4 million deal in 2013, but he feels like he has outplayed his contract.

“I think everybody, even you guys, should be lobbying for new contracts,” he told the media, according to Wiederer. “If your performance is at a high level and you’re performing to a high level, then you want to be compensated for the level that you’re playing at.”

Bennett had the best year of his career last season, notching career highs in catches (90), receiving yards (916) and touchdowns (six), but he still struggled with drops. According to Pro Football Focus, Bennett finished the 2014 season tied with Jimmy Graham for the most drops among tight ends with eight. 

The Bears have not publicly expressed any desire to extend Bennett this offseason, and the Pro Bowl tight end still has two years remaining on his deal. He has put up the two best years of his career the last two seasons, but he spent the first five years of his career trying to find a role on offense with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

He is a big target whom Cutler is comfortable throwing to, but Bennett has had a habit of disappearing late in the season. Four of his six touchdowns were recorded in the first three games of the year in 2014, while three of his five touchdowns in 2013 came in the first two games of that season.

Bennett has a chance to put up even bigger numbers in Gase’s system because of the young coordinator’s ability to create mismatches for his best players, but he will need to put his contract situation to the side once the season begins.

If he opts to hold out in training camp in hopes of signing a long-term extension, a handful of backups will need to step up.

The Backups

Bennett is firmly entrenched atop the depth chart at the tight end position, but the two backup positions are currently wide open.

The tight end with the most experience on the roster is Dante Rosario. Drafted in the fifth round by Carolina in 2007, Rosario spent four seasons with the Panthers before playing for both the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos in 2011. He spent one season with the San Diego Chargers in 2012 before joining the Bears in 2013.

In two seasons with the Bears, Rosario has appeared in 31 games and has amassed 17 catches for 129 yards. He does not bring much to the table as a pass-catcher, but he is a solid run-blocker. He struggles in pass protection, and according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed three sacks last season in 323 snaps.

Rosario could make the team because of his experience, but he will be pushed by veteran Bear Pascoe this summer.

The Bears signed Pascoe to a one-year deal this offseason, and the veteran tight end has appeared in 82 games in his career with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons. In his career, Pascoe has registered 40 catches for 336 yards with two touchdowns. Like Rosario, Pascoe is more of a blocker than a receiver, and he excels in the running game.

Pascoe and Rosario are two very similar players, but Pascoe is a better run-blocker and is an ideal fit as the team’s blocking tight end.

While Rosario and Pascoe battle to be the team’s blocking tight end, Zach Miller, Blake Annen, Chris Pantale and Brian Vogler will all be battling to be the team’s No. 3 tight end.

Miller is the most intriguing name in that group, but he has to prove he can stay healthy. He caught six passes for 68 yards with two touchdowns in the team’s first preseason game last summer, but he injured his foot the following week and was placed on injured reserve. He has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but the Bears signed him to a one-year deal this offseason.

“I feel good about where I am at,” Miller said last month, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “Every day out I am getting better. Foot is feeling great and I am building on every single day. I’m working to get crisp on my routes.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Miller in the sixth round of the 2009 draft, and he spent the first few seasons of his career as a reserve tight end before getting an opportunity to crack the starting lineup in 2011.

Miller played in just four games in 2011 before being placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. He tore his Achilles tendon the following summer and spent the entire 2012 season out of football.

He spent the 2013 offseason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before getting released prior to the start of the regular season. Miller signed with the Bears in late December 2013.

He showed flashes of his ability in the red zone last preseason, and head coach John Fox knows the veteran tight end has potential.

“He has flashed,” Fox said, according to Biggs. “He was a guy we heard had a great camp and some of the things we were able to research, he was a good get for us in the offseason. We just need him to stay healthy.”

Miller is an average blocker, but he gives Chicago another weapon in the middle of the field if opposing teams opt to limit Bennett in the passing game. If he can stay healthy this offseason, he has a chance to make the 53-man roster out of training camp.

The three remaining tight ends on the roster are all raw, but each has potential. 

The Bears added Annen to their practice squad last September, and the young tight end made his NFL debut in late November against Tampa Bay. According to Pro Football Focus, Annen logged one snap on offense that afternoon, but he finished the game with a plus-1.5 grade on special teams. 

Annen played at the University of Cincinnati and finished his collegiate career with 19 catches for 218 yards with two touchdowns. He played an H-back role at Cincinnati and was a good in-line blocker, but he needs to get stronger. He is going to have a difficult time beating out guys like Rosario, Pascoe and Miller for a spot on the roster, but he is a good candidate for the practice squad.

The Bears claimed Pantale off waivers earlier this offseason, and Bleacher Report’s Dan Pompei thinks the young tight end could be a sleeper:

Pantale appeared in five games last season for the New York Jets, but he played mostly on special teams. He is a good route-runner and has strong hands, but he struggles as a blocker and needs to get stronger. Like Annen, he is a good candidate for the practice squad.

The Bears signed Vogler as an undrafted free agent out of Alabama earlier this offseason. Vogler finished his collegiate career with 17 catches for 125 yards with two touchdowns, but he was used primarily as a blocker in the Crimson Tide’s offense. 

He is listed at 6’7″ and 263 pounds and has great size for the position, but there are concerns about his ability as a blocker.

“Base gets much too narrow as run-blocker,” wrote NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein in his scouting report of Vogler. “Leans into his block and can be discarded and knocked off balance. Struggles to generate clear wins in run game. Lacking footwork necessary to pass protect.”

Unless Vogler can improve in many of those areas this offseason, he is going to have a hard time sticking with the team.

Bennett is the clear-cut No. 1 tight end on Chicago’s roster, but the No. 2 and No. 3 spots are currently wide open. Many positional battles in training camp will involve flashier names, but Chicago’s backup tight end battle could be the team’s most intriguing this summer. 

Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. All contract information courtesy of Spotrac. Measurables courtesy of ChicagoBears.com.

Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

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