How good have the Bears been at drafting tight ends?

For only the third time in franchise history, the Bears last week selected a tight end in the first round of the NFL draft.

On the heels of the team taking Michigan’s Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick, this week’s High Five looks at the Bears’ interesting history with drafting tight ends.

We’ll skip the many busts while noting the Bears spent high second-round selections on Adam Shaheen (2017) and John Allred (1997) — players who combined for barely 500 receiving yards in seven combined seasons.

5. Tim Wrightman (1982)

The Bears selected Wrightman out of UCLA in the third round of the 1982 draft (the same year they took legendary quarterback Jim McMahon fifth overall), but Wrightman chose to play two seasons in the USFL before joining the Bears.

Wrightman played only two seasons with the Bears but they were pivotal. In a tandem with Emery Moorehead, Wrightman had 24 catches for 407 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl season of 1985-86.

4. Bob Parsons (1972)

Perhaps the most interesting tight end selection, Parsons is best known as a punter for the Bears.

He was selected in the fifth round out of Penn State, where he played quarterback for Joe Paterno. Parsons shifted to tight end later in his college career.

Parsons as a rookie was backup to starting tight end Earl Thomas. He remained a tight end until becoming the team’s punter in his third NFL season, and in 1975 (Walter Payton’s rookie year) Parsons played tight end and punted.

In 1981, Parsons set an NFL record with 114 punts in a single season.

3. Cole Kmet (2020)

The pride of St. Viator High School was selected in the second round and remains a core member of the Bears after receiving a contract extension running through 2027.

Kmet’s best season came in 2023 when he had 73 catches for 719 yards and 6 touchdowns. With a new coaching staff and in the second year of quarterback Caleb Williams, hopefully the Notre Dame product is targeted more than last year.

2. Greg Olsen (2007)

What might have been …

The Bears chose Olsen out of Miami in the first round with the 31st overall pick. He had 194 catches for 1,981 yards and 20 touchdowns in four seasons before the Bears inexplicably traded him to Carolina for a third round pick.

Olsen went on to become the first tight end in NFL history with three straight 1,000-yard seasons. He was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Panthers.

1. Mike Ditka (1961)

Who else could be No. 1?

Selected fifth overall, Ditka won an NFL championship with the Bears in 1963 and then won Super Bowls as a player and assistant coach with the Cowboys. Oh yeah … he also coached the Bears to their lone Super Bowl title in 1986.

The Hall of Famer amassed more than 4,500 receiving yards with 34 touchdowns in six seasons with the Bears before being traded to Philadelphia in 1967.