Tight ends are popular again in the NFL. Teams are loading up their TE depth charts, and the are no exception. Despite already having Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet, they used the 69th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Sam Roush, a tight end from Stanford. On paper, it looks a lot like a developmental pick. But when you dig deeper into the numbers, it looks like Roush will actually play plenty in 2026. in a new article on Monday that he expects Roush to be a day two draft pick who makes an "instant impact." "Roush has Armani Watts Jersey an a sortment of tight end skills, being a premium athlete for his 6-foot-5, 260-pound size," Yates writes. "He figures to a sume the valuable TE3 role thatDurham Smytheplayed for the Bears last season, along with being a major special teams factor.Roush should see the field plenty considering that Smythe played 25% of Chicago's offensive snaps and 50% of its special teams snaps in 2025." MORE: To find a parallel elsewhere in the NFL, this resembles a bit what the did in 2025. They already had Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, but they drafted Jackson Hawes out of Georgia Tech and found plenty of ways to use him in his first season. Because teams are getting more and more role-specific with their tight ends, there really can be snaps for three different guys in a depth chart -- and if you ask the or , you can make room for four TEs worth of snaps in an offense. The Bears will surely still rely on Loveland as a pa s catcher, and Kmet in key areas, because Caleb Williams already has lots of trust in them. Roush is capable of filling in the gaps, though, and at least based on Yates' expectations, it seems like Roush could have a role from day one. More NFL news: Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey