Bears sign D.J. Johnson is not crazy
K-State forward D.J. Johnson says the Chicago Bears have asked him to try out for the NFL as a tight end. He will give football a go.
— Kellis Robinett (@KellisRobinett) April 10, 2017
It sounds ludicrous at first thought. Johnson has put his heart and soul into basketball his entire college career. However, he does have a history playing tight end. In fact he was quite good at it in high school before choosing to go with basketball. So it’s not like he’d be flying in completely blind. The young man is a fine athlete who demonstrated supreme toughness and resilience when he missed action for 601 days due to foot injuries and still managed to improve his play.
His 6’8″ frame would be considered gigantic for that position but he’s well-built and has decent speed for his size. No doubt the possibilities might be endless if he could learn how to maximize the use of those advantages.
Besides, it’s not like this is uncharted territory for the NFL. More than ever the league has gotten tremendous success plucking basketball players out of college to play football. Any of these names ring a bell?
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- Antonio Gates
- Tony Gonzalez
- Jimmy Graham
- Martellus Bennett
- Julius Thomas
All were former hardwood enthusiasts and all shifted to the NFL where they would dominate. Gates and Gonzalez are destined for the Hall of Fame. Graham had multiple 1,000-yard seasons in New Orleans. Bennett and Thomas are former Pro Bowlers. The nature of the tight end position seems tailor-made for the skill set basketball players have. From the ability to box opponents out while catching the ball to running complex routes in order to gain space.
There is no doubt Jones will require some work. What he’ll encounter in the NFL is 10 times more complex than what he’ll remember from high school. At the same time there is no reason to think the Bears can’t put that enticing big body and long frame to good use right away. Especially given their woes in the red zone in 2016.
If nothing else it’s a classic low-risk, high-reward strategy. The Bears will likely get him on the roster for pennies on the dollar. If he doesn’t work out, they don’t lose much of anything. Then again if he did, it would be one of the great finds in recent team history. Another feather in the cap to GM Ryan Pace and the hard work his front office puts in.
