The Chicago Bears have kept a close eye on the running back prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, including Alabama’s Josh Jacobs and Washington’s Myles Gaskin, who the Bears hosted for pre-draft visits last week.
Jacobs’ stats aren’t flashy (640 yards and 11 touchdowns on 120 carries), but that’s because of Alabama’s stacked class of running backs. Jacobs only started one game for the Crimson Tide, but when he was on the field he showed his burst and vision as a ball carrier, as well as his versatility catching passes out of the backfield and as a weapon at kick returner.
Jacobs is a top running back prospect that doesn’t project to fall to the third round, which might mean that Ryan Pace could consider trading up to grab him if he is indeed his guy.
Gaskin, on the other hand, is a prospect that the Bears could snag in the fifth or sixth round, should they happen to look elsewhere than running back in the third and fourth rounds.
Gaskin is a versatile back that can be a threat with his speed as a runner or out of the backfield, who looks to benefit as a running back by committee. In 2018, Gaskin rushed for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns on 259 carries. He also caught 21 passes for 77 yards, as well as returned four kickoffs for 74 yards.
Both Jacobs and Gaskin are dual-threat backs that possess that home-run ability that would make them a great fit for the Bears offense. With the draft just a couple of weeks out, now we wait to see what Pace has up his sleeve.
