ESPN explains role of Bears' rookie TE Sam Roush despite Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet

ESPN explains role of Bears' rookie TE Sam Roush despite Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Tight ends are popular again in the NFL.

Teams are loading up their TE depth charts, and the Chicago Bears 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.

ESPN's Field Yates explained in a new article on Monday that he expects Roush to be a day two draft pick who makes an "instant impact."

"Roush has an assortment of tight end skills, being a premium athlete for his 6-foot-5, 260-pound size," Yates writes. "He figures to assume the valuable TE3 role that Durham Smythe played 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."