ESPN: Bears Draft Plan Vertical Passing Attack

Chicago Bears

http://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/nfl/med/chi.gifArea of concern -- Vertical passing productivity
Step 1: Trading for Brandon Marshall

Draft plan: Draft Stanford tight end Coby Fleener
Marshall is a great addition to the Bears' offense, but his acquisition is somewhat offset by the recent news that Johnny Knox, Chicago's best vertical receiving threat, will likely start the 2012 season on the PUP list due to his horrific back injury.
The impact of Knox's loss is hard to overstate from a metric perspective. Jay Cutler's 11.4 vertical yards per attempt (VYPA) and 12.1 stretch vertical YPA (SVYPA) last year were both very good totals, but those figures drop to pedestrian levels (10.0 VYPA and 8.4 SVYPA) when Knox's numbers are removed from Cutler's metrics. (Note: vertical passes are aerials thrown 11 or more yards downfield; stretch vertical passes are thrown 20 or more yards.)
Marshall will fill in more than adequately for Knox, but to get to the upper echelon of passing, the Bears' offense should mimic some of the other great offenses around the league and get a matchup nightmare at the tight end position.
Fleener fits that description perfectly. His 6-foot-6, 247-pound frame matches up quite well with Rob Gronkowski (6-6, 265) and Jimmy Graham (6-6, 260), as does his performance when he was flexed out as a wide receiver.
Last year Fleener caught 13 of the 20 passes thrown his way as a wideout and gained 281 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at his pro day. Add in the 10-yard defensive holding penalty he drew on another target and it equals 291 yards on 21 targets, or a ridiculously high 13.9 YPA.
That alone would justify taking him with the No. 19 pick in the first round, but combine that with his superb 8.8 YPA on 20 targets thrown to him when lined up as a standard tight end and it shows why it would be sensible to make an early draft investment here.

2012 NFL draft - Draft plans for Jets, Bears, Vikings and Buccaneers - ESPN

Oh bosh, we need Fleener like we need JA to return. Davis is a Gronkowski in the rough. He's an inch taller and 25lbs heavier than Fleener and an excellent blocker as well. Add to that the fact that Fleener is nowhere near worth the #19 pick.

We still have a deep threat in Hester and we have no idea at all how Weems will be used but the guy does have downfield speed. We have two or even three RB's who are good pass receivers and for all that Knox provided in the passing game everyone around here complains more about what he doesn't do than what he does.

This guy has no idea of what he's talking about and no real idea of Bears personnel or needs. This is worthless.

Hate it. At 6'7" 267lbs, Kellen matches up with Gronkowski and Graham even better than Fleener does, size-wise. He has size, speed, hands, blocking, hard to take down, ridiculous TD/rec average. Give the dude a chance this year now that he will likely be utilized properly. I absolutely hate the idea of taking a TE in this draft, let alone round 1.

I would like to see him play for the Bears. What's wrong with a dual TE formation? Davis and Fleener would be awesome.

I don't care if we draft TE but the more weapons over 6'2 tall the much better. Hill, Fleener, BPA I don't care as long as that condition is met.

Flee would not be my first choice, or even my second or third, but as I've said before, there are several guys that we could select at 19 (or a little later with a trade down) that can help this team get better, and he's one of them.

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Originally Posted by Papa Bear

Hate it. At 6'7" 267lbs, Kellen matches up with Gronkowski and Graham even better than Fleener does, size-wise. He has size, speed, hands, blocking, hard to take down, ridiculous TD/rec average. Give the dude a chance this year now that he will likely be utilized properly. I absolutely hate the idea of taking a TE in this draft, let alone round 1.

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This, this ... absolutely this!!!

Everyone wants to talk about Fleener's 4.45 (PRO DAY, HAND-TIMED, WITH THE WIND) forty at 247 pounds. Well, Kellen ran a 4.54 hand timed AT THE COMBINE at 262 pounds. People don't give his athleticism nearly the respect it deserves because he simply ha snot been asked to move downfield as a receiver, but the kid can move.

Off topic. One other fun fact on his measurables; Kellen was part of the 2008 Combine where vertical measurements were messed up because someone fucked up re-adjusting the sticks. The amount of guys who attended that Combine who registered 5"+ better jumps at their pro days is amazing. One of the many noticeable disparities that year was Ray Rice's 8" difference at his pro day.

If they go wr: Michael Floyd, then Kendall Wright
If they go TE, just wait to pick Allen from Clemson in the third round
Otherwise, just go bpa on offensive linemen with a few early picks

Let me play devil's advocate for a second and let me preface this by saying I like Fleener, but would not want him at 19.

1. Kellen Davis, everything about him physically screams Gronk, but he has not been able to produce or develop to that point and I know a lot of that was Martz.

But if Kellen Davis was this monster that was ready to bust out why was their not more teams or money out there for him in free agency?

2. Fleener is a weapon and the Bears need weapons in the passing game. While physically Davis and Fleener are similar Fleener is by far a more polished receiving prospect and reminds me a lot of JerMichael Finley with the way he can split out, run routes and catches the ball with his
hands.

I am not opposed to the Bears adding weapons at any position.

3. With Hesters inability to contribute and develop as a WR [26 catches, 369 yards, 1 TD in 16 games/8 starts] and Knox likely not playing the Bears do not have a ton of deep speed. If Emery evaluates Fleener as a legitimate deep threat, and after watching Stanford a couple of times I think he plays 4.5 fast, then maybe he is a decent pick.

4. Davis and Fleener would not be playing the same position. I would assume that Davis would play tight to the line where he could block and Fleener would be split out like the Packers use Finley as more of a WR.

5. This is my weakest point, but with the way that Lovie has been falling over himself to praise Davis does that not sound like a smoke screen to you guys? Why would you heap praise on a guy heading into free agency, so you could pay him more as the interest increases?

Again I am not a Fleener guy, if you want to attack vertical draft Kendall Wright, but these are some arguments for looking at him.

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Originally Posted by WindyCity

But if Kellen Davis was this monster that was ready to bust out why was their not more teams or money out there for him in free agency?

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He had three meetings set-up after the first day of FA with Dallas, Pittsburgh and the Bengals. One team was obviously willing to pay him $3M per season, so I think your assessment of his FA value is a bit off. He came back here probably because we were the best chance to be a team's go-to guy to go along with familiarity.