Ben Braunecker
| No. 84 Chicago Bears | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth: | February 7, 1994 | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Ferdinand (IN) Forest Park | ||
| College: | Harvard | ||
| Undrafted: | 2016 | ||
| Career history | |||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
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Ben Braunecker (born February 7, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Harvard.
Early life
Braunecker attended Forest Park High School in Indiana, where he played for the football team on offense, defense and special teams. He started for three years and was team captain for his senior year. In his high school career, Braunecker recorded 51 receptions for 1,254 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a return specialist, he had 29 kickoff returns for 1,005 yards, while on defense, he recorded 101 tackles and seven interceptions. He was twice named All-State (Honorable Mention); he was the Southwestern Indiana MVP and twice All-Conference.[1]
College career
In his senior year, Braunecker was named a consensus All-American as he was selected to the AP FCS All-America first team, the Walter Camp FCS All-America team, the STATS FCS All-America first team, AFCA FCS Coaches' All-America team and the College Sporting News Fabulous Fifty FCS All-America team. He was also honored on the College Sports Madness All-America first team and the InstantScouting FCS All-America team. He was also named first-team All-Ivy League when he recorded 48 catches for 850 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished his college career with 68 receptions for 1,168 yards and 10 TDs.[2]
Professional career
2016 NFL Draft
In February 2016, Braunecker was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Of the tight ends at the Combine, he was the fastest in the 60-yard shuttle, was ranked second in the vertical leap, broad jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle and had the third-highest repetitions in the bench press.[2]
Braunecker went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft and was signed by the Chicago Bears after the draft.[3]
Chicago Bears
Braunecker struggled with a severe ankle injury during the 2016 offseason and missed the entire preseason.[4] He was released on September 3,[5] but was signed to the practice squad the following day.[6] He was promoted to the active roster on October 1.[7] He made his first NFL start against the Green Bay Packers on October 20.[8]
References
- ↑ "48 Ben Braunecker". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- 1 2 Clegg, Jonathan (March 1, 2016). "The Best Player at the NFL Combine Went to ... Harvard?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ↑ Jahns, Adam (May 8, 2016). "Get to know the Bears' undrafted free-agent signings". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ↑ Campbell, Rich (October 1, 2016). "Bears elevate tight end Ben Braunecker to active roster". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ↑ Mayer, Larry. "Bears trim 22 to reach 53-man limit". ChicagoBears.com.
- ↑ Mayer, Larry (September 4, 2016). "Bears sign Paulsen, claim 2 off waivers". Chicago Bears. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ↑ Mayer, Larry. "Braunecker elevated to active roster". Chicago Bears.
- ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrauBe00.htm