Last month, word came out that the Chicago Bears were gearing up to make a run at free agent tight end Austin Hooper. In his fourth season with the Atlanta Falcons, the 25-year old posted career highs with 787 yards and six touchdowns. Far better than anything the Bears got from their own tight ends in 2019. A group that couldn't even get one player over the 100-yard mark for the season.
From their perspective, Hooper must look like the Messiah. However, not everybody is all that impressed with what the tight end brings to the table. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus and ESPN tagged him as one of the most overrated free agents of 2020.
"Hooper notched 787 receiving yards last season with Atlanta, and while his overall PFF grade of 78.3 was certainly respectable, there is cause for concern in how that grade was produced. Much of his production came through simply taking what defenses gave him, but when he was targeted against single coverage, his grade dropped to just 66.5, almost 30 points lower than the league's better receiving tight ends."
Considering the fact that Hooper is likely to command upwards of $10 million or more per year, this is not exactly encouraging were the Bears able to sign him.
Austin Hooper is no Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz
The entire issue for the Bears is the offense Matt Nagy runs. It's in the same style of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. For anybody who has followed those teams, they will know that the schemes are geared around get major productions out of the tight ends. Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz are two of the best in football. Chicago has tried to find their version for years. Adam Shaheen was drafted in the 2nd round but is a bust. Trey Burton was a nice addition in 2018 but has since become riddled with injuries.
No doubt there is a tinge of desperation going into this offseason. They have to get this problem solved. Hooper certainly looks like the safest bet, if not necessarily the best. Does that make overpaying to get him a wise decision? Not exactly. Especially given the limited cap space the Bears have. Finding their Kelce or Ertz is important, but not at the cost of making pretty much the same mistake they made with Burton two years ago.
