Chicago Bears: Position-by-position grades through Week 4

Running Backs

I’ll get the negative out of the way first. This is partly due to the play of Kush, but Jordan Howard has had little room to run thus far. He’s been hit more in the back field or at the line of scrimmage than we’re used to seeing, and sometimes I wonder if he would have broken free on more of those occasions last year.

This season, he doesn’t look quite the same. But, again, it is early and the offensive line has been average when it comes to run-blocking. We’ll give Howard a pass for the most part on his 3.2 yards per carry.

The good news is, both Howard and Tarik Cohen have been involved in the passing game. Howard has caught 10 balls on 12 targets for 78 yards. His hands look much better than they ever have, which is great for this offense.

Cohen, meanwhile, has been electric most of the time. On 27 carries, he’s rushed for 139 yards, giving him a stout average of 5.1 yards per tote. He’s broken off one run for longer than 30 yards already, while Howard hasn’t done so yet.

Speaking of which, Trubisky has had two such runs of 30-plus yards — that’s remarkable.

Back to Cohen, who is third on the team in receptions with 14, and those have come on 16 targets. He’s been consistent in both facets of what the Bears have expected him to do, and I believe Nagy is just getting started with him.

Grade: B