The Chicago Bears shocked absolutely no one when they signed Leroy Watson.
They shocked no one, because who was even paying attention to the signing of a 58 overall offensive lineman in a league seeing a lot of turnover on O-Lines and people looking for elite talent. Watson is very below average as a pass protector, and not great in the run game either.
However, that is his skill set compared to professional linemen with tons of responsibilities. He struggled at the position because of his lack of experience and his lack of strength compared to those around him, on both sides of the ball.
Ben Johnson let him know the second the ink dried that he would go back to being a player stronger and bigger than those around him. How? Simple, the Bears have put Watson back at tight end, a position he hasn’t played since college, when he was on the football team at the University of Texas-San Antonio, UTSA.
He only caught 25 passes for 297 yards and 2 touchdowns in 3 whole seasons, so he adapted to continue his career, but now his career will only continue because of that past work as a tight end.
Chicago is setting out to see if Watson can be an impactful player or if his time is up in PML, at least as a player. His move to tight end instantly makes him one of the stronger tight ends and better blockers, along with being the heaviest tight end in the league by thirty pounds. He’ll have to work on conditioning, but he has enough speed to do what’s necessary in routes and blocking.
Only time will tell if Leroy Watson has revitalized his dying career with the switch, but it’s clear Ben Johnson has a plan to include him, at least in the preseason, in two-tight-end sets or as a possible fullback.
