Chicago Bears make another trade, draft TE Shaheen
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) - The Chicago Bears weren't through with controversy after Day 1 of the NFL draft.
Following a stunning trade to move up and select quarterback Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2 on Thursday, the Bears traded down in Round 2 Friday and selected NCAA Division II tight end Adam Shaheen.
Shaheen, a 6-foot-6, 278-pound junior, initially accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Pittsburgh-Johnstown, but transferred to Ashland and put on almost 60 pounds to walk on as a football player for the Ohio school.
"To put on that kind of weight and still maintain my athleticism, it was a good grind for two years," Shaheen said.
Last season, Shaheen set a Division II record with 16 touchdown catches. Shaheen finished his career with 129 catches for 1,755 yards and 26 TDs. Shaheen said he made the decision to switch sports after watching an Ohio State-Wisconsin game.
"I just really missed football," Shaheen said. "I didn't have much opportunity to play football coming out of high school because I was so thin. But I had a bug in me after watching the Ohio State game."
The Bears dealt the 36th pick of the draft and their seventh-round pick for the Cardinals' second-round pick. They also got Arizona's fourth-rounder and six-rounder this year, as well as a fourth-round pick next year.
Bears tight end Zach Miller went on injured reserve late last season with a foot injury. The Bears in free agency signed Dolphins tight end Dion Sims.
Chicago came into the second round of the draft with numerous perceived needs at safety and cornerback and it remains an area to look at in future rounds. The Bears haven't had more than one interception from a safety since 2014 and last year tied for next to last in the NFL with eight interceptions.
Shaheen was introduced by former Bears center Jay Hilgenberg and Katie Foster of Rockford, Illinois, a gymnast who lost a leg to leukemia at 12.
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