Jordan Howard may be the most underappreciated player in the NFL.
After beginning his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons — the first Chicago Bear to ever accomplish such a feat — and grossly outplaying his fifth-round draft status through three seasons as a pro, the Bears are rumored to be in the running back market this offseason.
Why? Well, it’s pretty obvious Matt Nagy’s offense doesn’t fit Howard’s skill set.
But that doesn’t mean Howard isn’t one of the NFL’s better starting running backs. In fact, after running for 935 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018, he surpassed Bo Jackson on the all-time rushing list of players from Alabama high schools.
Howard’s 3,370 career yards rank him seventh, behind Antowain Smith, Joe Cribbs, Cadillac Williams, Wilbur Jackson, Rickey Young and Tony Nathan.
There aren’t many household names on that list, and Howard has a strong chance at leading the pack someday. Smith ranks No. 1 with 6,881 yards, but at his current pace, Howard could overtake the former Bill in three seasons.
Whether he’ll be a Bear when he does it is one of Chicago’s great offseason questions.
