Probably the most disappointing draft pick that Ryan Pace has made in his career to date that isn’t named Kevin White is Adam Shaheen. The Chicago Bears GM insisted the Ashland tight end fit their “Bears Box.” An undisclosed draft evaluation tool where they slot players who fit every single thing they look for in a player. It sounds nice, but looking back it feels like Pace may have gotten a little too enamored with the what-ifs Shaheen presented.
The kid was a physical marvel. He stood 6’6 and weighed 270 lbs but had enough speed to threaten defenses down the field. Draft experts and fans took to nicknaming him “Baby Gronk” as an homage to Patriots All-Pro Rob Gronkowski. The belief was Shaheen had that same level of talent and it was hard to argue. Guys like him don’t come around too often. There was a problem though. Shaheen was not a football player.
It’s easy to forget that just a couple of years before getting drafted, he was playing basketball at Pittsburgh of Johnstown. So technically he’d played only two full years of football at the college level and that was against Division II competition. The guy was a big fish in a really small pond. He was never really pushed to improve his skills as a football player. Just being a freak athlete was enough.
That’s what led to the mistake so many other young athletes make. He thought that could continue in the NFL.
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Adam Shaheen realized late the NFL is stacked with athletes
The thing about the NFL? It features the best of the best. Everybody is a good athlete at that level. Those who aren’t don’t survive long. This is why players who may have dominated in college are so often rendered useless in the pros. They’re unwilling to put in the necessary work to make themselves better. Athleticism got them through high school and college. It should work here too, right?
Shaheen admitted to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times that the past two seasons have rudely awoken him from that fantasy.
But through two unfulfilling seasons marred by injury, the 6-6, 270-pound Shaheen has realized there’s a missing component that turns athletic freaks into Pro Bowl tight ends. You still have to be a football player.
“Coming back last year [off injured reserve], that’s when I was like, ‘All right, you’re not always going to be able to outrun [people],’ and really figured out how to shake somebody off or look him off,” Shaheen said.
“I think this offseason you can really say, ‘Look at the difference in the way you ran this year vs. last year. Really understanding [the position] — not just being a big body, but actually being able to create a separation. I’ve always been good with catching the ball in traffic and getting open [while covered]. That’s always been a strong suit. But now actually just making it easier for the quarterback and having more separation — just being a better player.”
Could it be too little, too late? Shaheen missed a large chunk of training camp with back issues. He hasn’t played much at all in the preseason either. The Bears seem willing to give him one more shot in 2019. There’s no question though that the leash is shorter than ever. If he falters again, it’s a virtual certainty the team will seek out new options next year.
