Fendi Onobun is a tight end that played during the preseason for the Bears last year, but spent the regular season on the practice squad. While there's a lot of guys that are in that boat, Onobun is a very interesting case. The 27 year old was initially a basketball player, but made the switch to football. Guys like Tony Gonzalez (who I believe did always play football as well as basketball, so it's not too different) and Antonio Gates have had a similar path. It's not just this with Onobun though, it's where he is now, where he can be in the future, and the attitude he brings. Throughout last preseason there was just one thing he couldn't do, and that was hold on to the ball. If he could do this, he could be a stud with the Bears. Now it's time to go a bit deeper though.
The first thing that should be looked at is the pure athleticism of Onobun. He runs a 4.48 40 and has a vertical leap of 37-38 inches. At about 6'6" and over 250 lbs, this is pretty outstanding. Pretty much, it's not far off from what LeBron James would be if he played in the NFL as far as size and athleticism goes, just a couple inches shorter and about 10 lbs. lighter. Whenever any team has a guy with this level of athleticism on their team, they'd better hope he puts it together, because someone with that sort of athletic ability that can put it together is the type of person who is an absolute terror to other teams.
Still, about that putting it together part, Onobun is bringing the right attitude. Anyone who watched him with every dropped pass last season could see that the passion is there. The guy almost acted like he lived and died with every pass that was thrown to him. He just wasn't able to hold on to the ball. However, with tight end there's a lot more. Onobun was actually much better than I expected as far as blocking went. Given that I thought he'd be close to a zero as far as blocking went, so that doesn't say a whole lot, but he wasn't ever manhandled and knew what to do. Still, he wasn't great, maybe a couple of levels above a Greg Olsen, but if he's able to catch the ball and you put that together, that's something you happily take as a backup tight end. On top of that, Onobun has the right attitude. In a recent Sun Times article (which was what got me to write this, link here), Onobun mentioned that he wanted to be more than a football player. That's one of the things that so many great athletes get hung up on, they think their athletic ability is what will take them when in reality, with each sport, it's the smarts that really are what separate the men from the boys.
So what that all adds up to is that right now the only major weakness he shows in his game is his ability to hold onto the ball. Now, saying this makes him sound like he's ready to suit up and be a Matt Spaeth type of guy, but like I mentioned above, while he's a decent blocker, he's nothing special. Matt Spaeth was a very good blocker, and to be honest, when he did get open, he was pretty reliable at holding onto the ball anyway. Anyway though, Onobun's ability to hold on to the ball last preseason was REALLY bad. It was at the point of where if he did hold on, it was a surprise. Of the passes I saw thrown to him, I would imagine that 60-80% were drops. I'm not even exaggerating. It was that bad. Sure, it's one thing if a player just has bad hands, but there is a lot of technique to catching the ball. Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys teams had a reputation for having sure handed receivers. One drill that Mike Ditka mentioned was that he would write a number on every ball, and as the ball came in the player would have to yell out the number on the ball AS they caught it (not after). This only teaches one aspect, watching the ball into the hands, but it's a great example of how good hands can be taught.
With Onobun, if he has indeed been working on his weaknesses, then he would have been putting hours upon hours in on working on those hands. Now, let's imagine what Onobun could be with reliable hands (not saying league best, but reliable, let's go Greg Olsen on this one, even though his hands were a little less than reliable). Onobun, during last preseason, was getting open at will. Sure, he was doing this against second string defenses, but at the same time it wouldn't be a shock to see him go up against some of those guys as a backup, as defenses have to use their backups as well. Either way, the guy can probably get open against any defense he goes up against. He has very good speed to get open against linebackers and safeties, and on top of that, he's got that great size to give Cutler that extra radius to use. Given that he at least isn't a liability in the blocking game, if he really is able to better learn the proper technique and other intricacies to catch the ball, the Bears could have a tight end that is every bit as good at catching the ball as their starter. Having that kind of pass catching depth at tight end is something that would make any coach's eyes light up. Especially with the guys beyond that who can block well (although they can't catch).
So, not only is Fendi Onobun a guy who has the right attitude and passion, but if he is able to figure a couple of things out, he could be a massive asset for the Bears. His physical talent is through the roof, and like I said, if and when those guys figure it all out, it's a nightmare for other teams. To have that kind of athletic ability and be able to know exactly what to do out there? Not only that but to be able to fix his biggest weakness? That's something that could be a massively deadly weapon for the Bears. Just think about it, Marshall, Jeffery, Forte, Bennett are already good targets. If Wilson is able to take that next step as well as Onobun, then the Bears would have 6 very good targets on their team for Cutler, not to mention the red zone empty backfield group they could put in there with Onobun (6'6"), Marshall (6'4"), Jeffery (6'3"), Bennett (6'6"), and Wilson (6'4")...there are just so many things they would be able to do if Onobun is able to get those hands in shape. No other tight end past Bennett on the Bears roster right now has the ability to add as much to the team by just fixing one thing as Onobun can, and because of that, we should all be rooting for Onobun to tear things up next season.
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