He’s a little bummed that he won’t be able to surf Lake Michigan, but John Allred said he thinks he’ll fit right in with the Bears as their highest-drafted tight end since Mike Ditka in 1961.
Allred, a 6-foot-4-inch, 244-pound blue-collar football type out of Southern Cal who favors surfing and skateboarding in his spare time, was selected with the Bears’ first choice in the NFL draft Saturday, a second-round pick they traded up two places to secure.
Originally scheduled to pick 40th, the Bears traded their first of four sixth-round picks to the St. Louis Rams in order to shore up a position weakened by injury and long undermanned.
The Bears wrapped up the day with the third-round pick of 6-4, 303-pound guard Bob Sapp out of Washington.
“It was pretty well public knowledge that the Bears were interested in taking a tight end,” Bears personnel director Rod Graves said. “So we were concerned that maybe somebody might get ahead of us, and for what we gave up, we thought it was a small price to pay to get a good player.”
Allred, who can also long-snap and help out on the coverage team as a special-teamer, is known as a tenacious blocker, particularly effective on sweeps, and can catch the ball in traffic. But is nota speedster and has a history of injuries. He broke his left leg in the 1993 and ’94 seasons and missed two games with an ankle injury in ’95.
But Graves said the Bears have no concerns about his health and that his blocking skills for a run-dominated offense convinced them to make him the third tight end chosen overall.
“John has established himself as one of the better blocking tight ends in this draft, and when you think about what fits with our offense,” said Graves, “he was much more attractive to us then some other tight ends that were left on the board.”
Bears coach Dave Wannstedt said he preferred Allred for his versatility, compared to the team’s existing tight ends.
“It really got to the point the last few years that when (Keith) Jennings was in the game, it’s run, run, run and with (Ryan) Wetnight, it’s pass, pass, pass. But this is a guy who can do both. He’s also a smart guy, and you can put him in the game and he can play every down.”
Both Jennings (broken leg) and Wetnight (torn ACL) are coming off serious injuries, as is backup Bobby Neely (knee). Chris Gedney, whom Wannstedt once hoped would be an all-purpose tight end, signed with Arizona as a free agent after four injury-plagued seasons.
Offensive line coach Tony Wise was glad to get help with both of Saturday’s picks, but was especially heartened to get another tight end. “I feel excellent about that because we went through so many different guys last year, and then to see Kerry Cash actually in a couple games, a guy not on the team earlier, just pointed out the need at that position.”
Wannstedt said Allred will have a chance to contribute immediately. “He’s a guy, because of our injury situation, who is going to be getting more than his share of reps,” he said. “We’re not going to bring him in and put him under any pressure to be a starter, but the opportunity is there to play as quickly as he’s ready to play.”
Allred, calling the opportunity “a dream come true,” has never been to Chicago. He has played only played sparingly in cold weather, but says he is a “traditional tight end.”
“I’m just a guy who likes to play football,” Allred said. “I’m going to look to play every down as hard as I can and try to show the coaches and the team what kind of player I am.”
Like Allred, Sapp gives the Bears some much-needed depth at his position. A punishing run-blocker and physical specimen (he’s a martial arts specialist), Sapp needs work on his pass protection but will still come in handy on a line expected to be further thinned out with the anticipated loss of free-agent center Jerry Fontenot.
The switch of second-year Chris Villarrial from guard to center leaves just Todd Perry, Todd Burger, Octus Polk and Evan Pilgrim at guard.
“After Perry and Burger, we really don’t have anybody else with any playing experience,” said Wannstedt. “We felt we had to do something to strengthen the offensive line, and when he was still sitting there, we felt we had to grab him.”
