Chicago Bears: Bargain free agent running backs to consider
By Ryan Heckman
T.J. Yeldon
My favorite player out of these four is T.J. Yeldon. For the last four seasons, Yeldon has been one of the more dependable guys in any back field. But, because of the struggles in Jacksonville for a couple of those years, he’s flown under the radar. Not to mention, Jacksonville obviously drafted Leonard Fournette as their feature back two years ago.
Yeldon is one of those running backs who does his job quietly, but rarely does anything wrong. His 4.0 yards per carry average over his career isn’t spectacular, but much of it can attributed to the 312 carries over his first two seasons with the team — while the team wasn’t all that great behind the likes of Blake Bortles.
The best aspect of Yeldon’s game, and why he would fit perfectly in the Bears’ scheme, is his ability to catch the football. In four seasons (30 starts), Yeldon has caught 171 passes for a total of 1,302 yards and six touchdowns. In all four of his seasons with the Jaguars, he’s held a catch percentage of over 70.0 percent — that’s fantastic.
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Could Yeldon replace Howard? In a way, I think so. Howard has obviously been more productive, but within this type of system, I think a tandem of Yeldon and Cohen would work very well. A little more versatility out of the position would come from signing Yeldon, but that of course means moving Howard. That’s the first step. For now, we wait to see if it actually happens.