The One Name Who Might Pleasantly Surprise The Bears in 2017

Pretty much all the big names have had extensive conversations about them for the Bears. Of course the names dominating all media outlets are Mitch Trubisky, Jordan Howard, Kyle Long, Leonard Floyd and Akiem Hicks among others. That shouldn't be a surprise. Those men are considered the vital components to what is hoped will be a winning team in the near future. So what about the names nobody is talking about? If that's the case, then it's time to bring up the Daniel Brown Bears story. Remember him? Probably not. The 25-year old tight end was a late free agency signing last year. This after spending two seasons riding the bench with the Baltimore Ravens. He was looked at as nothing more than emergency depth in case injuries struck. Well, needless to say that's exactly what happened. Martellus Bennett was traded. Zach Miller went down for the year, as did Gregg Scruggs. Veteran Logan Paulsen was almost useless as a receiver. Thus the Bears were in a major predicament. They had to get somebody out on the field. So just one month after claiming Brown off waivers, they started him against Tennessee.

Daniel Brown Bears era began with a bang

Low and behold the guy made an impact. It came during a play in the first quarter. The Bears were driving into the Titans red zone. Matt Barkley dropped back to pass and after looking left he came back right and fired a pass in the end zone. There making a diving play on the ball was #85. A player fans had no clue about. Other than the fact he shares a name with a world famous author. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Barkley-finds-Brown-for-a-7-yard-TD.mp4"][/video] Sure it wasn't what one would call a breakout performance, but it was the first sign that maybe the Bears had found somebody. A tight end who could make some things happen. The trend continued for the rest of the season. Brown would surface two or three times per game for a nice catch. This included a career-best six catches for 42 yards against Detroit. Again, not game-breaking stuff but definitely confidence-building.

Brown coming out firing in 2017?

Ever so quietly it looks like GM Ryan Pace may have forged one of the deeper tight end positions in the NFC. Zach Miller is back from injury and he's joined by free agent Dion Sims and rookie second round pick Adam Shaheen. The latter of whom is already making an impression in practice. As it turns out though, he's not the only one. Adam Jahn of the Chicago Sun-Times noted the tight end during OTA and minicamp practices.

"The player with the most to prove in camp is … Tight end Zach Miller. The Bears love him. He has been a productive player, and his personality fits the Bears’ ideal profile. But cornerback Tracy Porter was the same way — and now he’s gone. Tight end is deep. Second-round pick Adam Shaheen and free-agent addition Dion Sims are locks. But Ben Braunecker and Daniel Brown also showed improvement during the offseason program."

At this stage the Bears could use every piece of good news possible. Their offense is a bit of a jumbled mess right now. Outside of Jordan Howard most of their other personnel are unproven from the quarterbacks to the wide receivers and yes, the tight ends too. Unlike the other two though, it genuinely looks like Chicago has something going at tight end. Not only would Brown's emergence showcase their potential depth, but also provide competition. Miller is 33-years old and an injury hazard. Having Brown show something might give the Bears the excuse needed to cut ties with the veteran and go young with him, Sims and Shaheen. Don't think for a second that Ryan Pace wouldn't do that. Miller checks both criteria in being old and not an original acquisition of his.