The Chicago Bears third preseason game against the Denver Broncos highlighted their weaponization of new tight end Trey Burton. Acquired in free agency from the Philadelphia Eagles, it appears Burton will become the lethal weapon the Bears offense desperately needs.
Lethal Weapon Starring Trey Burton
With new head coach Matt Nagy coming from the Kansas City Chiefs, where their featured weapon was tight end Travis Kelce, Burton looks to be in line for a similar workload this season. Burton had an impressive game against the Broncos. He caught four passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, as the Bears first-team offense finally got in a decent amount of work this third preseason game.
The Bears first team offense played three series in Denver, and it was clear that Nagy wants to establish the athletic Burton as a focal point of the offense. At just 6’2″, he is by far the Bears smallest tight end, looking more like a beefy wide receiver. He has agile hips, long arms, good hands and is quick enough to separate from linebackers and some safeties.
Construction
Bears general manager Ryan Pace and Nagy targeted the Eagles free agent Burton. He was used in a variety of ways against a Broncos defense familiar to Nagy, from time spent as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator last year. Kelce had his biggest game of the season against the Broncos last year, with seven receptions on 10 targets for 133 yards and a touchdown, in a mid-season matchup.
Kelce didn’t play against the Broncos in the last game of the year, as the Chiefs rested their starters for the playoffs. With backup tight end Demetrius Harris starting in Kelce’s place, Harris had similar production with three catches for 73 yards. Nagy’s offense is built around the tight end position, which is why he and Pace collaborated to find and target the athletic pass catching Burton in free agency.
Deployment
The key for Burton and the Bears is how Nagy plans to deploy Burton as a weapon. He was used in two tight end sets, single sets with an extra receiver, and with running back Tarik Cohen lining up at receiver and going in motion. Burton was used in motion in half of his plays. He moved outside as a wide receiver to the inside and vice versa. On the touchdown he caught from Trubisky, he moved from wide right, to line up as tight end left. When the ball was snapped he ran to the right, behind the line of scrimmage to avoid detection, and caught the pass in the flat for a wide open touchdown.
One of Nagy and Burton’s best plays was a quick-hitting tight end screen that Burton ran up the middle for a gain of eight yards on their first series. It was so simple in design, just like a run play, but with the running back running out of the backfield and taking an edge defender with him. Then Burton stepped inside behind the left tackle and received the pass, almost like a shovel pass but quicker. Burton turned up the field, ball in hand, following the offensive line blocking two yards downfield already. It turned into a nice eight-yard gain that will pick up a lot of first downs this season.
It was the kind of quick-hitting play that offers a lot of combinations. More plays like this will cause defenses to pause and think, while Bears players like Burton and Cohen are running by them. It was a flash of creativity from Nagy that should give Bears fans hope that they will drastically improve their third-down conversion rate that was 31st in the league.
Detonation
Defenses that decide to cover Burton with linebackers might be asking for trouble, as he gets a step on defenders pretty quick. Having the knowledge and confidence that came from bringing in a similar offense in Philadelphia, with another Kansas City/Andy Reid disciple in coach Doug Pederson. In two tight end sets with blocking tight end Dion Sims, Burton will be able to run freely down the seam of the field for big gains. Having Burton running up the middle of the field, getting separation, using motion and misdirection is going to make Burton a favorite of quarterback Mitch Trubisky if he isn’t already.
What are Burton’s fantasy possibilities this season, compared to Kelce’s first two seasons with the Chiefs, where he averaged 870 yards a season? Upon further review, it’s O.K. to expect Burton to amass 60-65 catches for 700-800 yards on the conservative side. If the regular season compares to this recent performance against the Broncos, Burton becomes a top 10 tight end in the league pretty easily, maybe top five.
