Chicago Bears: 5 running back targets if Bears trade Jordan Howard

Kalen Ballage is slightly bigger than the running backs Matt Nagy worked with in Kansas City.  In fact, he is a physical specimen at 6 feet 1 inch and 228 pounds.  He’s probably best known for scoring eight (that’s right eight) touchdowns in a single game, tying an FBS record.

Ballage is coming off a senior season, in which he split carries with teammate Demario Richard.  Nevertheless, he rushed for 669 yards and 6 touchdowns.  He also had a very impressive week at the Senior Bowl.  Make no mistake, Ballage is a very physical runner with a downhill running style.  What makes him so intriguing is that he also possesses the speed and agility of a “finesse” back.  This week at the combine he ran a 4.46 40-yard dash time and impressed former NFL start Maurice Jones-Drew with his finesse moves.

For Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears, his pass-catching ability is the most desirable aspect of his game.  Although he only caught 20 passes this year, in 2016 he caught 44 passes for 469 yards.  So we know the potential is there.  In addition, pass catching is widely considered to be one of his strengths as a running back.  He is such a good pass catcher that you really just need to throw it in his general area.  He would be a tremendous benefit to Mitch Trubisky and could save the young quarterback more than a few incompletions with his skill set.

Kalen Ballage is a rare combination of speed and power as evidenced by the videos above.  It would be very interesting to see what Matt Nagy and Mark Helfrich could do with such a player.  Imagining him catching the ball in space should have Bears fans grinning from ear to ear.  The only question is whether he would go through or around the defender.