Part 6 of an 11-part sequence previewing the NFL draft and analyzing the Bears’ wants.
Jordan Howard had a sense the place he’d be traded. Tipped off by his agent, the previous Bears working again scoured the Eagles web site within the month earlier than the March 28 deal.
“I was looking at the roster,” he mentioned in a press convention earlier this month, “to see if they were gonna have 24 open.”
Howard will get to maintain his jersey quantity, albeit in midnight inexperienced, for the ultimate season of his rookie deal. The $2.025 million due him this 12 months due to a efficiency bonus restricted what the Bears have been capable of obtain in return: a sixth-round choose in 2020 that would bump as much as a fifth-rounder if he performs effectively.
By buying and selling Howard, who was a poor slot in Matt Nagy’s offense, the Bears created their greatest draft want later this month. It could be a shock in the event that they didn’t take a rusher with considered one of their first two alternatives — both within the third or fifth rounds.
The Bears are intrigued by Penn State’s Miles Sanders, who ran 220 occasions for 1,274 yards in changing Saquon Barkley final 12 months, if he lasts to No. 87 total. Nagy and common supervisor Ryan Pace put Mike Weber by means of a exercise at Ohio State final month.
Iowa State’s David Montgomery, Texas A&M’s Treveon Williams, and FAU’s Dexter Singletary spotlight the highest of the second tier of draftees. Stanford’s Bryce Love or Oklahoma’s Rodney Anderson, who’re recovering from knee accidents, might be stable worth performs on Day 3.
Whomever the Bears usher in with have an opportunity to show his value. Nagy won’t ever lean on a bellcow again, however there are nonetheless 10-15 carries per sport unaccounted for in 2019.
The Bears gave Seahawks working again Mike Davis a two-year, $6 million deal final month, however he’s carried greater than 15 occasions in a sport solely twice in his profession. Despite his struggles, Howard did so seven occasions final 12 months alone.
“With Mike, we saw somebody that … was in a position in Seattle where he didn’t have a lot of tread on his tires — not a lot of carries, shared some carries,” Nagy mentioned final month. “I liked his vision. … He was a guy that can make you miss between the tackles. … From all the research we did on him, we thought it was a great fit.”
Newly signed receiver/returner Cordarelle Patterson, who pinch-hit at working again for the Patriots, figures to get a couple of carries on gadget performs.
Tarik Cohen, the Bears’ do-everything sparkplug, averaged 6.2 carries per sport final season. To hold him a dynamic receiver and returner, the Bears received’t up that common. The solely different returning working again to run the ball final 12 months, Taquan Mizzell, gained solely 16 yards on 9 tries.
The Bears; working again workload doesn’t make sense until they draft a rusher. By buying and selling Howard, they’ve painted themselves into doing precisely that.
RUNNING BACKS
Grading the Bears’ want: High. The 4 working backs on the Bears roster mixed for 220 carries final 12 months. Jordan Howard, whom the group traded final month, had 250 by himself. The Bears want to exchange Howard, and to a lesser extent, the particular groups contributions of Benny Cunningham, who signed with the Jaguars.
On the roster: Mike Davis, Tarik Cohen, Taquan Mizzell and Ryan Nall.
The 5 finest draftees: Alabama’s Josh Jacobs; Alabama’s Damien Harris; Penn State’s Miles Sanders; Iowa State’s David Montgomery; and FAU’s Devin Singletary.
Keep an eye fixed on: The Big Ten guys. The Bears are researching Penn State’s Miles Sanders and Ohio State’s Mike Weber, each of whom match their want for between-the-tackles rushers who can grow to be cross catchers. A video of Nagy and common supervisor Ryan Pace working Weber out confirmed the working again catching a cross on a wheel route.
“I didn’t get thrown to too much at Ohio State,” Weber, who caught 54 passes over three years at OSU, mentioned on the NFL Scouting Combine. “I can show that.”
Close to dwelling: Notre Dame’s Dexter “Juice” Williams missed the primary…