As the St. Louis Rams continue to search for answers at tight end, one name that keeps coming up is Bears TE Greg Olsen. His name got included on the market after Mike Martz was hired to be the new offensive coordinator in Chicago, where he is expected to implement his famous system that doesn't rely heavily on a receiving tight end with limited blocking ability.
Olsen's name came up Tuesday in Jim Thomas' weekly QnA with fans and armchair general managers at the Post-Dispatch. One reader asked about the possibility of an Olsen-for-Alex Barron swap, which Thomas called "intriguing." That hardly qualifies as a trade rumor, but it hit the internets nonetheless. I want to reiterate that was Thomas' own judgement and it was clearly noted as a hypothetical situation.
The Olsen possibility was further discussed on ESPN's Rumor Central, where Adam Schefter mentioned that the likely price tag was a second round pick (notice how coveted those second round picks are this year?). From there, KC Joyner, the Football Scientist weighed in with some intriguing information of his own:
The general consensus is that the Bears might be thinking of moving Olsen because Mike Martz doesn't use his tight ends, but there is another reason they might be inclined to make the move. Olsen was one of only eight tight ends to be targeted more than 100 times last season, but his 5.9 YPA total was the fourth-worst among tight ends. That total was only one-tenth of a yard higher than Randy McMichael's mark last season, so unless the Rams were to get more productivity out of Olsen than Chicago did, the move would be a lateral one and would not make much sense.
Yikes. Randy McMichael territory? My first thought was that this perhaps had something to do with the fact that the Bears offense didn't have many weapons last year (Olsen led the team in receiving). I've sent a message to KC for more insight.
I wouldn't make the move, regardless of this info, for a second rounder.