Chicago Bears: Could Bears draft Saquon Barkley and trade Jordan Howard?

Should the Chicago Bears consider drafting Saquon Barkley and trading Jordan Howard?  It might not be that crazy of an idea.

Let me begin by saying that I love Jordan Howard.  He is the heart of this Chicago Bears team, and a tremendous running back.  So before the hate mail starts flowing in, know that I am not advocating for the Bears to trade Howard.  However, if Saquon Barkley is miraculously available when the Bears pick at number eight, there are objective reasons to consider taking Barkley and trading Howard.

The stars must align for this scenario to present itself to the Bears.  First, Saquon Barkley has to make it to the eighth pick.  If you’ve watched any of his film or NFL Scouting Combine work (more on that later) you know that’s a longshot.  However, due to a philosophical shift on running backs, it is not impossible.

There are many teams and general managers who subscribe to the theory that you should never draft a running back in the first round.   The rationale is that running backs have a short shelf life and are relatively interchangeable.  One only has to look at the Kansas City Chiefs and the stable of running backs they’ve cycled through in the last few years.  While that general rule makes logical sense, there are players to whom that rule shouldn’t apply.  Saquon Barkley is one of those players.  Here’s a look at why this deal might make sense for the Bears to consider.

Barkley is a transformational talent

Again, while there is some merit to the idea of not drafting a running back in the first round, the rule just shouldn’t apply to Saquon Barkley.  Moreover, it seems that there may be the beginning of a shift back towards drafting running backs early.

As everyone knows, the NFL is a copy-cat league.  The recent successes of Ezekiel Elliot, Todd Gurley, and Leonard Fournette have shown that the right running back can quickly help change a franchise’s fortune.  If the question is whether Saquon Barkley is that type of running back, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

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If you were building a running back from the ground up, he would look like Saquon Barkley.  He’s 6 feet tall and weighs a rock solid 223 pounds.  He has a  solid base that allows him to plow through arm tackles.  Barkley also has the balance and agility to turn on a dime and stay up through contact.  Once he gets into the open field, he has ridiculous breakaway speed (ran a 4.41 at the combine), making him almost impossible to catch.  Every single one of these skills, among others, are on display in the video below.

If for some reason his power, speed, or agility fail to get him past a defender, well, he could always jump over him.  As demonstrated during the combine, Barkley has an insane vertical leap, reaching 41 inches.  He also knocked out 29 bench press repetitions at 225 pounds.

As impressive as he is on the field, word out of the combine is that he is even more impressive during team interviews.  In short, he is quite literally, the total package.  He would easily fit into the Chicago Bears locker room.  Barkley would also become one of the faces of a franchise starved for current superstars.

Barkley fits Nagy’s offense

On Wednesday, Matt Nagy addressed the media at the combine.  During the fifteen-minute press conference, he touched on his impressions of Jordan Howard.  Now perhaps this is reading too much into things, but watching that presser, I did not come away feeling like Nagy gave Howard a ringing endorsement.  His comments were a bit luke-warm.  Take a listen below:

Now if you just read the words, you may think, “what’s the big deal?”  But that’s kind of the point.  The words he used weren’t really all that flattering, especially when you consider he was describing his star running back.  To describe Jordan Howard he used words like “interesting,” and “unique.”  He said he was “elusive” but qualified it with “for his size.”  But the kicker was at the end of his comments.  He spoke about how it’s intriguing for the staff to see “how we can fit his style of play into our offense.” Then followed it up with, “and I think it feels right”

Those words alone say a lot.  On their face, they strongly imply Howard’s style does not currently fit within their offense.  Remeber, Nagy came from Kansas City where he ran a West Coast offense which relies heavily on pass-catching running backs.

Jordan Howard is an adequate pass-catching running back.  In fact, I think some of the criticism of him as a receiver is slightly overblown.  However, has had his share of drops, and he is not nearly on the same level of Saquon Barkley.  Last year alone, Barkley had 54 catches for 632 yards.  More importantly, the throw doesn’t have to be perfect.  As long as you put it in the general area of Saquon Barkley, he is going to catch the ball.

This is exactly the type of running back that fits perfectly in Matt Nagy’s “Spread Coast” offense.  In fact, one NFL executive compared Barkley to Kareem Hunt, who Nagy relied upon heavily in Kansas City.  No doubt, Nagy could have a field day drawing up ways to use Barkley to attack defenses and keep them off-balance.  A far cry from Dowell Loggains allowing the defense to dictate offensive schemes.

Jordan Howard’s contract

Jordan Howard is still currently playing under his rookie contract.  He signed a four-year deal worth just over a total of $2.5 million dollars, meaning he will be an unrestricted free agent after 2019.  This means that in two years the Chicago Bears will have to decide whether to open up the checkbook for what will surely be a big payday for Howard.

While his performance on the field warrants that, the Bears might have reservations about signing him to a long-term deal considering his punishing style of running.  As it is, running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL.  Howard is also an extremely physical runner and routinely takes a pounding each game.  This is one of the reasons he’s beloved by fans.  It’s also a reason why the Bears might not be willing to give him a long-term deal.

In addition, with two years left on his rookie deal, the Bears could still receive decent value in a trade.  Perhaps not what Bears fans think is fair value, but they could likely get a second-round pick in return.  In fact, a running back desperate team may even go higher.

Next: Landry to Bears picking up steam?

The point is the Bears won’t know what they could get in return unless they start listening to offers.  While it is unlikely they do that before the draft, it might be worth considering if Saquon Barkley is available when the Bears pick.  Until then, let the debate roll on.