Chicago Bears' Braunecker a tight end worth watching

BOURBONNAIS — You tell me, what position group on the Chicago Bears are you worried about?

Quarterback is always a concern, but Mitch Trubisky sure played like a playoff QB last year against the Philadelphia Eagles, and there are plenty of reasons to believe he's still getting better.

The run game hasn't been fixed yet, but the running backs room has been rebuilt and there is again plenty of reason to believe it will be improved.

The offensive line is extremely solid if not exceptional, and the wide receivers may be the best group the Bears have had in decades.

The defense is simply loaded everywhere, and because of all the depth there and solid early performances from Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry battling for the kicking job, special teams could be much improved as well.

What does that leave?

The one position where the Bears could have problems: tight end.

Unless, of course, the answer is Ben Braunecker, the former undrafted rookie free agent out of Harvard now beginning his fourth season.

Most eyes have been trained on Adam Shaheen with very good reason after the Bears drafted him with the 51st pick out of tiny Ashland University, but Shaheen comes with two issues.

With just 17 catches for 175 yards in his first two seasons, and only 13 games played as a rookie and just six last season, is he is a special enough athlete to make the leap from used-to-be Division II football to the NFL, and will he ever stay healthy?

With Shaheen now having missed three of the Bears' first five practices with back soreness, there is real concern — and there should be.

Trey Burton appears fully recovered from off-season sports-hernia surgery, looking just fine early in camp, but he is strictly a “move” tight end, albeit one of the game's best who might not be on the field a ton in “11 personnel,” unless it's a clear passing situation.

The Bears have a number of undrafted rookie free-agent tight ends in camp, with one (Dax Raymond) seemingly a lock to make the team, but they're still all unknowns. And while Bradley Sowell is trying to make the switch from offensive tackle to tight end, right now his route running and attempts to actually catch the ball have been a bit uncomfortable to watch.

It may just be that Braunecker, who has spent most of his first three seasons with the team in the background, is the Bears' best option as their starter.

In fact, he has flashed several times in the passing game over the past few days and he told me Tuesday that he thinks the reps he's getting with the “ones” in Shaheen's absence have been invaluable.

“Of course, it's great to be out there with the first team,” Braunecker said, “and I don't think you can overstate how valuable that time is.”

But Braunecker was quick to add, “Of course, I hope Adam can get back as soon as possible. We have a really great group in our room, and everybody is there for each other.”

I asked Braunecker if he's trying to mentor Raymond and the other rookies fighting for roster spots at the position, or if it's every man for himself, and he told me, “I'd like to think so. Of course, I want to play as much as I can, but it's just as important to me to be a good teammate, and I remember the guys accepting me when I was a rookie. So it's just the right thing to do.”

At 6-feet-4 and 255 pounds, Braunecker does believe he can be the complete package, saying, “Coming into the league, learning to block the position was the biggest challenge, but I think I've come a long way and I'm pretty comfortable out there in any situation.”

What else should we expect from an honors student out of Harvard who during the off-season has continued doing some graduate work and still plans on pursuing a career in medicine when his playing days are over?

“I put in an awful lot of work as an undergraduate, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it now. I fully intend to pursue medicine when I'm done playing.”

A year or two ago, I would have thought that might be sooner rather than later, but over the past few days Braunecker has become one of the Bears we should be watching a lot more closely.

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.