Chicago Bears: Tight Ends Crucial For Success Under Waldron

Under new Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, tight ends will be critical for success. As a result, look for the team to overhaul the position this offseason.

The Chicago Bears are a team in transition. They have gone through a lot of losing in the past decade (who are we kidding? The past several decades). General Manager Ryan Poles is the latest one trying to turn things around.

So far, Poles is having some success. Yes, there are some hiccups. For the most part, however, he has hit on the players he has on the roster. He has the team on the right path. After tearing down the roster and signing subpar players, he has improved the team.

After a 3-14 season and losing the final 10 games of the season, the Bears improved to seven wins and had opportunities at even more. While that was a good step up, in Year 3 of the rebuild the team has to take a bigger step. Competing for a playoff spot is not expecting much.

That means Poles has to step up as well. He needs to do everything he can to add even more talent. He has the #1 and #9 picks in April’s NFL Draft. Additionally, he has plenty of salary cap space. He can go out and find the players he feels can best help the team.

Poles hires Waldron to take over the offense

In addition to getting the roster right, Poles needs to have the right coaching staff. With the offensive struggles in 2023, he and the Chicago Bears felt that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was not a right fit in Chicago. Days after the regular season ended, he fired not only Getsy but also most of his staff.

Poles then spent the next two weeks getting a new offensive staff in place. The leader he chose was former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to do the same job in Chicago. Now it is Waldron and his staff’s job to get the most out of the offense.

One of the staples of Waldron’s offense is the use of the tight ends. He likes to use a 12-formation set. That means he has a lot of one running back and two tight ends in the formation. Under Getsy, the Chicago Bears did not employ that too much. When they did it was usually to have one or both of them to block.

As a result, we should see Poles make changes to the tight-ends unit. In 2023, the Bears had Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, and Marcedes Lewis. While Kmet had 73 catches for 719 yards, the others combined for 15 catches and 141 yards.

Tonyan is a free agent and Lewis is 40 years old. It does not appear that either one will return in 2024. That means Kmet will be the only familiar face in the tight ends room in 2024.

Expect Poles to hit both free agency and the draft to find replacements. He always talks about having a young, athletic roster. Some free agents fit the description. In fact, Poles can bring in someone who already knows Waldron’s system.

Noah Fant played the last two seasons with the Seahawks. Under Waldron, he had 82 catches for 900 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is also just 26 years old so he and Kmet could be a good duo. They would give whoever is the quarterback two good targets.

Having Kmet and Fant would not keep Poles from taking someone in the draft. While many fans are in favor of the Bears picking up Brock Bowers, taking him early is not feasible. Wide receiver is a bigger priority.

Cade Stover, Jaheim Bell, and Ben Stinott could all be good Day 3 pickups. They could help give the Chicago Bears a very strong tight ends unit in 2024.