NFL players snubbed the Chicago Bears, specifically Jordan Howard, in their top-100 list this year. Here’s why they won’t be able to leave Howard off the list in 2017.
Perhaps partly due to how bad the Chicago Bears were in 2016, rookie running back Jordan Howard didn’t make the cut of this year’s annual NFL Top-100 player list.
Expect that to change next season.
Though overshadowed by Ezekiel Elliott, who ranked seventh overall on that list, and overlooked by the league generally, Howard proved last season that he’s not to be taken lightly. Despite only getting 13 starts, he topped Matt Forte’s rookie rushing record (1,238 yards) and finished 2016 as the NFL’s second-leading rusher with 1,313 yards. His 5.2 yards per carry was good for fourth in the league, and he had the third-most yards per game (87.5) behind Elliott and Le’Veon Bell.
Coming into this season, Howard intends not only to avoid a sophomore slump, but to jump straight to the top of the running back heap. When asked about his goals for the upcoming season, he laid out two big ones (via Chris Boden of CSN Chicago):
"“First off, make the playoffs. Be the leading rusher, and just help the team in any way I can and stay consistent.”"
While the Bears might have to wait on the playoffs for a year or two, Howard leading the league in rushing sounds absolutely possible.
But whatever his goals are, expect Howard to exact a measure of revenge for his recent snub. You heard it here first: Jordan Howard will be one of the NFL’s top 100 players next season.
Here are a few reasons why.
The Chicago Bears’ interior offensive line is really good
The formidable trio of Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton will pave the way for Howard’s big sophomore year.
As much as people like to speak ill of the Chicago Bears’ offensive line, the fact is that, as a unit, they’re fairly well-respected. Pro Football Focus ranked them 15th-overall after last year (even despite their struggles at tackle) and have them ranked fifth coming into this season.
The reason why people are so high on the Bears’ line? Their interior trio of Long, Whitehair and Sitton dominated last season. Despite battling injury, Long still registered a respectable 78.1 grade from PFF. Meanwhile, Whitehair and Sitton earned the second and third-highest grades on the entire Bears team behind Jerrell Freeman. Their solid play helps make up for Charles Leno and Bobby Massie, who generally struggled last year.
They will also arguably be the biggest factor in Howard’s success. Last season, Howard averaged more yards between the tackles than any running back in the league, including Elliott. Furthermore, his 966 yards up the middle made up 73.6% of all his rushing yardage in 2016. His one-cut, downhill style is perfectly suited for the Bears’ personnel up front.
As long as the big three in the interior keep playing at a high level, Howard will keep raking in the yards.
The Bears will give Howard more red-zone touches
After struggling to hit paydirt last year inside the 20, look for Chicago to give Howard more scoring opportunities.
It took longer than it should have for the Bears to realize Howard was their best back last season. And even once they did, it’s my opinion that they didn’t give him enough touches, regardless of the “flow of the game” argument. Particularly in the red zone, the lack of consistent commitment to Howard was troubling.
Now that they know what they have in Howard, he’s likely to get way more chances near the goal line.
Howard’s six rushing touchdowns tied for 19th in the league last year, which is odd considering how much yardage he racked up. Also, it’s strange because he proved that he was an absolute bull. He averaged more yards after contact of any rookie rusher last season and was among the league’s best at powering through tackles in short yardage situations.
These talented rookies refused to go down after first contact. pic.twitter.com/4MLWkENWvf
— PFF (@PFF) June 22, 2017
He didn’t get chances to show this near the end zone enough, though. Last year, he had 31 red zone attempts, which ranks behind the likes of Philadelphia’s Ryan Mathews and Washington’s Robert Kelley. And inside the five yard line? Just eight. Just speculating here, but that might have factored into the Bears’ 51.02% red-zone touchdown percentage (23rd overall).
Put Howard down for 10 or more rushing touchdowns this year. That will get peoples’ attention.
Howard will be more involved in the passing game
After struggling to catch the ball his rookie year, look for Howard to improve this season
The one glaring flaw in Howard’s game—one that the league surely noticed—was that he didn’t catch the ball well out of the backfield last year.
As such, one can bet he’s putting in the time to get better at it. And he needs to.
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On 50 targets last year, Howard only caught 29 and dropped eight, which led all running backs. Every-down backs ideally don’t have drop rates of 16%. Ultimately, that meant more time on the field for Jeremy Langford, who didn’t play particularly well in 2016. As such, the offense suffered.
No one expects Howard to suddenly become Matt Forte, but improvement shouldn’t be too much to ask. He’s clearly the best back on the team even without great ball skills and is an instinctive, powerful runner. Get him the ball more often in space with room to operate? That could destroy opposing defenses. His lone receiving touchdown against the Colts and his huge reception against the Vikings showed that.
If he catches 40-50 passes this year, the Bears’ offense will be far more dangerous. And the league will have to reckon with the emergence of Howard as a more complete running back.
Next: Chicago Bears shut out of NFL Top 100
Assuming Howard gets the number of touches he deserves per game, the Bears will be a better team than they were a year ago even as a rebuilding squad. And with him at the helm of that improvement, he’ll earn the respect he should’ve already gotten from his peers.
Ready or not, he’s coming.