Chicago Bears: Why Jordan Howard is now the odd man out

The Chicago Bears and running back Jordan Howard once seemed to be a perfect fit together. Now, it appears the once featured back is gradually becoming less relevant in an ever-changing NFL.

When Jordan Howard entered the NFL in 2016, he took the league by storm. A fifth-round draft pick out of the University of Indiana, Howard defied expectations by finishing his rookie season with the Chicago Bears second in rushing yards, while making a well deserved Pro-Bowl appearance. The sky would be the limit, right?

Unfortunately, the NFL is changing the way games are played nowadays at a rapid pace, whether it be through integrating new rules, penalties, coaching philosophies, etc. Because of this carry-over effect, position players that were once valued to a high degree are now being cast as secondary players. A fact Howard can now relate to this season.

Howard’s once prominent role on the Bears is diminishing right before our eyes. His carries-per-game (15.6) are down this year compared to last season (17.3). Furthermore, his rushing yards per attempt this season (3.5) is a career-low.

With Tarik Cohen receiving more playing time on offense this season under Matt Nagy, his value as both an effective runner and pass-catcher trumps Howard’s value as a bruising back.

While Nagy continues to insist that Howard remains an important component to the Bears’ offense, fumbling at the goal line doesn’t do the third-year back any favors.

Players like Howard thrive in old-school offenses like John Fox‘s. For as much flack as Fox received during his tenure as Bears’ head coach, Howard thrived in a down-hill running system that was run the prior two seasons under Fox.

Now that the passing game is being emphasized more than ever before, Howard’s game becomes less impactful, given his catching woes. He’s not a speedy, shifty runner like Cohen, which means he’s less likely to make defenders miss in the open field after the catch without stout linemen creating running holes for him.

Howard is still a very good player. He can still pick up large chunks of yards on any given hand-off. It’s just that when Howard is on the field, there’s little element of mystery for opposing defenses to crack. Everyone on the field knows exactly what he’s there for, which is why he’s struggling to pick up more yardage on carries. Defenses just load up the box to stop the run when Howard’s in.

This is why the former Pro-Bowler is the odd man out right now, until further notice. He just doesn’t fit into what offenses are trying to do now. It’s all about calling the shovel passes, play-action pass, run-pass option, and screen pass. The kind of stuff that hardly was used in the John Fox era.

Maybe Howard’s game will eventually evolve just as the game continues to change, to catch up with the latest offensive fad — using your running-back as a primary receiving weapon. Until that moment arrives though, expect Howard to continue struggling to fit in with the rest of the crowd.