Chicago Bears: Running backs depth chart deceiving

The Chicago Bears released their first unofficial depth chart this morning. One thing stands out to me right away. Do not be fooled by the running back depth chart.

According to the Chicago Bears first unofficial depth chart, Tarik Cohen is the Bears starting running back. This is followed by Mike Davis and David Montgomery. This stood out to me, not because I thought it would look different. Honestly, this is how I expected the depth chart to look going into the first preseason game.

This stood out to me because I fear many people are going to be concerned with Montgomery being last and know Cohen cannot be a lead back in the NFL due to his size. Fear, not Bears fans. The depth chart is going to mean very little at this point in the season when it comes to this group. More often than not, rookie running backs start at the back mainly because of pass protection.

If you have been watching highlights of camp on social media, Montgomery’s talent is going to shine through to a point where he is going to be top dog of this backfield before the season is over. However, we should not expect him to be a bell-cow either. I am working on a breakdown of how I see this running back group finishing stats-wise by the end of the season.

This group will clearly be a running back by committee, but I project Montgomery to still see the majority of the rushing attempts by season’s end. Cohen could even be listed as the first-string running back on the official depth chart going into Week 1 and my opinion would still not change.

We have to remember, despite his size, Cohen was in this Chicago Bears system in 2018. He is a step ahead of these two backs and will probably see nearly the same amount of snaps as Montgomery this year. I know what you are thinking. How is that possible after I just said Montgomery will see the lion’s share of the rushing attempts?

The answer is simple. I expect Cohen to see on average seven rushing attempts per game. However, I fully expect Cohen to be in on multiple plays where David Montgomery or Mike Davis are in the backfield. Cohen could be in the backfield too or lined up as a wide receiver. Cohen has proved how good he can be at catching the football. In fact, his wheel route is deadly.

Mike Davis is not the odd man out here either. As you can see he is ahead of Montgomery on the depth chart. This again will not matter. Going into the first preseason game I would be shocked to see Cohen play more than one series (if he even plays at all). The coaching staff needs to see their two new running backs in action more than the guy they know can perform.

For those of you out there panicked by this first release of the depth chart, do not be. Many things will change within this group going into the season. Quite honestly, Montgomery could be the third-string back going into Week 1 and still outperform Davis. Only time will tell, but remember these depth charts are fluid and things change not only from week-to-week but even within in a game. The exciting thing is we finally have Chicago Bears football to watch this week.