Chicago Bears training camp is less than three weeks away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.
Next up are the running backs, which you could argue is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses at this point. Outside of lead back David Montgomery, who’s entering his second season, and the versatile Tarik Cohen, there are a lot of unknowns.
Perhaps the most important is who will serve as Montgomery’s primary backup, as Cohen isn’t your traditional three-down back. The Bears have three unproven guys that are currently vying for that third running back spot in Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce and Napoleon Maxwell.
Could they bring in a veteran to compete? Unknown at this point. But given the importance of securing a dependable backup to Montgomery, it shouldn’t be out of the question.
Let’s take a look at the running backs heading into training camp.
David Montgomery
Montgomery is entering training camp as Chicago’s lead back, and he’s determined to take the next step following a decent rookie campaign. Heading into his second season in Matt Nagy’s offense, expectations are high for the Bears’ top draft pick a year ago.
Last season, behind a struggling offensive line and questionable play-calling, Montgomery had 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also added 25 receptions for 185 yards and a score. Montgomery surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards as a rookie. He ranked second among NFL rookie rushers in both yards (889) and touchdowns (6) last season, trailing only the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs.
Tarik Cohen
Tarik Cohen has thrived when utilized as an overall playmaker on offense, where he can showcase his speed and elusiveness. But last season didn’t go as planned for the former fourth-round pick. Last season, Cohen rushed for 213 yards on 64 carries (3.3 yards per carry) and caught a career-high 79 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
While Cohen figures to be the next option after Montgomery, he thrives more as an overall offensive weapon than a traditional running back with his skillset. And it’s up to Nagy to utilize Cohen’s skillset to get the most out of him in the run game and the pass game, which only serves to benefit the offense.
Ryan Nall
Nall has been everyone’s preseason darling for the last couple of seasons, and now he has a chance to lock up a spot on the 53-man roster, where he’d serve as Montgomery’s backup.
In nine preseason games, Nall has rushed for 358 yards on 56 carries (averaging 6.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He also caught 14 passes for 80 yards. Nall did see action in the regular season, where he had just two carries for eight yards. Assuming Nall wins the job over a couple of undrafted free agent rookies, that workload figures to increase exponentially where he’ll be the first line of defense in lieu of Montgomery.
Artavis Pierce
If there’s someone that’s going to challenge Nall for that third running back spot, it figures to be the explosive Artavis Pierce. Funny enough, Pierce played behind Nall during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Oregon State. Now the two will battle for a chance to make the active roster.
Pierce tallied 2,127 rushing yards, good enough for 10th all-time at Oregon State, and scored 15 rushing touchdowns. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry, which tied for the best in program history. Pierce thrived in the passing game, where he caught 74 passes for 578 yards and two touchdowns, and the transition to a similar offense should be seamless.
Napoleon Maxwell
While it’ll certainly be an uphill battle for Napoleon Maxwell, the former Florida International star has a chance to prove that he can be the complement the Bears are looking to pair with Montgomery. While Maxwell lacks the speed that Pierce has, he’s someone that is able to find a hole and burst through it.
Maxwell has battled adversity in the form of injuries throughout his collegiate career, including in his freshman and sophomore seasons. But in his next three years at FIU, Maxwell had 337 carries for 1,836 yards (with 5.45 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns.
