Chicago Bears: 5 solidified positions going into 2018 NFL Draft
By Ryan Heckman
Running Back
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara.
Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen.
The Bears have a top-3 back field in all of football — period.
Todd Gurley is phenomenal. Who’s behind him? Le’Veon Bell, Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliot, David Johnson — they are all fantastic. But, look at the usage. They are guys who handle most of the load.
In Chicago, you are going to see something special from Howard and Cohen this coming season and seasons to come. Howard has been an elite running back in the NFL over his two seasons and Cohen is one of the most spectacular and gifted running backs there is.
“Howard can’t catch.”
Save it.
Big play specialists pic.twitter.com/tSb5wWpxJY
— PFF (@PFF) September 8, 2017
Howard worked his way up to second on this list over his first two years, trailing only LeSean McCoy. He’s done this against boxes stacking eight or more guys against him — over 40 percent of his carries in 2017 came in this scenario.
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“Cohen is too small and hasn’t proven anything.”
Once again, save it.
2018 is going to see a lot of tandems in the NFL get tons of work. It’s what the league has become. You have to have two capable running backs in order to succeed. The league is changing in a way that it’s never changed before. Like Marcus Mosher mentioned in a tweet previously, some players will end up becoming “position-less.”
Howard and Cohen won’t be labeled as the latter. They are running backs. But, they are very, very good running backs. Both of them have significant strengths, and Nagy has already committed himself to focusing on those when calling plays.
Sure, they will all work on getting better in areas they aren’t as strong in, but for the most part, you’re going to see Howard pounding the ball between the tackles and Cohen out in space.
As for draft impact, I don’t see the need here whatsoever. Benny Cunningham is back and should provide decent special teams ability as well as being able to spell either Howard or Cohen in the event of an injury.