Part 6 of an 11-part series previewing the NFL draft and analyzing the Bears’ needs.
Jordan Howard had a feeling where he’d be traded. Tipped off by his agent, the former Bears running back scoured the Eagles website in the month before the March 28 deal.
“I was looking at the roster,” he said in a press conference earlier this month, “to see if they were gonna have 24 open.”
Howard will get to keep his jersey number, albeit in midnight green, for the final season of his rookie deal. The $2.025 million due him this year because of a performance bonus limited what the Bears were able to receive in return: a sixth-round pick in 2020 that could bump up to a fifth-rounder if he plays well.
By trading Howard, who was a poor fit in Matt Nagy’s offense, the Bears created their biggest draft need later this month. It would be a shock if they didn’t take a rusher with one of their first two selections — either in the third or fifth rounds.
The Bears are intrigued by Penn State’s Miles Sanders, who ran 220 times for 1,274 yards in replacing Saquon Barkley last year, if he lasts to No. 87 overall. Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace put Mike Weber through a workout at Ohio State last month.
Iowa State’s David Montgomery, Texas A&M’s Treveon Williams, and FAU’s Dexter Singletary highlight the top of the second tier of draftees. Stanford’s Bryce Love or Oklahoma’s Rodney Anderson, who are recovering from knee injuries, could be solid value plays on Day 3.
Whomever the Bears bring in with have a chance to prove his worth. Nagy will never lean on a bellcow back, but there are still 10-15 carries per game unaccounted for in 2019.
The Bears gave Seahawks running back Mike Davis a two-year, $6 million deal last month, but he’s carried more than 15 times in a game only twice in his career. Despite his struggles, Howard did so seven times last year alone.
“With Mike, we saw somebody that … was in a position in Seattle where he didn’t have a lot of tread on his tires — not a lot of carries, shared some carries,” Nagy said last month. “I liked his vision. … He was a guy that can make you miss between the tackles. … From all the research we did on him, we thought it was a great fit.”
Newly signed receiver/returner Cordarelle Patterson, who pinch-hit at running back for the Patriots, figures to get a few carries on gadget plays.
Tarik Cohen, the Bears’ do-everything sparkplug, averaged 6.2 carries per game last season. To keep him a dynamic receiver and returner, the Bears won’t up that average. The only other returning running back to run the ball last year, Taquan Mizzell, gained only 16 yards on nine tries.
The Bears; running back workload doesn’t make sense unless they draft a rusher. By trading Howard, they’ve painted themselves into doing exactly that.
RUNNING BACKS
Grading the Bears’ need: High. The four running backs on the Bears roster combined for 220 carries last year. Jordan Howard, whom the team traded last month, had 250 by himself. The Bears need to replace Howard, and to a lesser extent, the special teams contributions of Benny Cunningham, who signed with the Jaguars.
On the roster: Mike Davis, Tarik Cohen, Taquan Mizzell and Ryan Nall.
The five best draftees: Alabama’s Josh Jacobs; Alabama’s Damien Harris; Penn State’s Miles Sanders; Iowa State’s David Montgomery; and FAU’s Devin Singletary.
Keep an eye on: The Big Ten guys. The Bears are researching Penn State’s Miles Sanders and Ohio State’s Mike Weber, both of whom fit their need for between-the-tackles rushers who can develop into pass catchers. A video of Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace working Weber out showed the running back catching a pass on a wheel route.
“I didn’t get thrown to too much at Ohio State,” Weber, who caught 54 passes over three years at OSU, said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I can show that.”
Close to home: Notre Dame’s Dexter “Juice” Williams missed the first month of his senior season because of a suspension before returning to gain 995 yards on 158 carries.
The Irish haven’t had a running back taken in the top 89 since Julius Jones went No 43 in 2006. Williams figures to go on Day 3.
“I had to be that playmaker,” he said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “And also being able to change that phase that Notre Dame is in of not being able to put out an elite running back.”
