Top under-the-radar Chicago Bears players in 2024: No. 1 Gerald Everett

The Bears are heading toward a momentous training camp. Veteran players will report to Halas Hall for camp July 19. The team will hit the practice field the following day.

All eyes will be on the Bears this summer. They have the No. 1 overall draft pick in Caleb Williams, and they will be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

But who are some of the under-the-radar players who could be big contributors in 2024? Shaw Local is counting down the top five under-the-radar Bears this week. These could be players who are waiting for an opportunity to take on a bigger role, rookies looking to make an impact or simply a player who Bears fans aren’t talking enough about.

Here’s a look at No. 1 on the list.

No. 1 Gerald Everett

Position: Tight end

Experience: Eighth season

Looking back: The Bears made several marquee additions to their offense in March, notably trading for receiver Keenan Allen and signing running back D’Andre Swift. But the most overlooked addition might be at a position where they were already pretty solid at the top: tight end. The Bears signed Gerald Everett to a two-year, $12 million contract.

Top tight end Cole Kmet isn’t going anywhere, and he will remain a fixture of this offense. Even so, adding a second pass-catching tight end could be a huge advantage to Williams and the offense. First-year coordinator Shane Waldron has always utilized his tight ends well. Over the past two seasons in Seattle, at least three Seahawks tight ends caught 15 or more passes each season. The Bears haven’t accomplished that with even two tight ends in the same season since 2020.

The Bears lacked production from the tight end position outside of Kmet last season. To be fair, the passing attack was one of the worst in football, and there were only so many completions to go around.

Everett has had at least 400 receiving yards in five consecutive seasons. Last season with the Chargers, he totaled 51 receptions for 411 yards and three touchdowns.

Looking forward: The hope is that the Bears’ passing attack will be much improved. The Bears finished 27th in passing yards in 2023. Even if the offense makes a modest improvement into the top 15 or 20 among 32 passing attacks, that will produce an extra 40 or 50 passing yards per game. Already, between the trio of talented receivers, along with Kmet and Swift, the Bears have a lot of mouths to feed on offense.

Everett isn’t here to be the lead tight end, but he doesn’t have to be in order to add an extra dimension for the Bears. He has the potential to give the Bears one of the best one-two punches at tight end across the league. It’s hard to find one good tight end in the NFL. Having two allows Waldron to be creative with his play calling and with the route design. It also gives Williams another sizable target over the middle of the field.

Everett worked with Waldron for four years with the Los Angeles Rams and one season in Seattle in 2021. Waldron was Everett’s tight ends coach when Everett was a rookie. The two are quite familiar with each other, and Waldron should have a good understanding of how to use Everett to the best of his abilities.

If the Bears’ passing attack makes a big improvement in 2024, Everett could be one of the unsung heroes.