Chicago Bears |
Height: 6-1 Weight:
224 Age: 23
Born: 11/2/1994 Fairfield, AL
College: Indiana
Experience: 3rd season
High School: Gardendale HS [AL]
The Perception:
When the Bears knew their time had come to begin the rebuild
moving on from previous installments like Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, and Brandon
Marshall, the 2016 NFL draft was the perfect place to start stock piling talent
revitalizing the club. At the time, Coach John Fox understood the team’s
shortcomings and requirements trying to fill as many gaps as possible. With a
draft loaded with depth at the running back position, the Bears chose to wait,
ultimately scoring big in the fifth round selecting former Indiana product
Jordan Howard who was pegged to go anywhere form the second to third round.
After the draft and moving into training camp, the hype train began to pick up
steam for the potential for Howard to steal carries from then starter Jeremy
Langford. As the hype turned to reality, Howard gained favor of Coach Fox,
planting himself as the main back by week three of the 2016 season.
Most knew the 2016 season would be a disastrous year with final
tallies showing the Bears finish with a 3-13 record with Jordan Howard being
the lone bright spot on the club. Expectations for 2017 weren’t much higher for
the Bears, but drafting a potential franchise signal caller in Mitchell
Trubisky was another piece to the rebuilding puzzle to get the fan base excited
for what the possibilities had in store for the future. While the Bears added
another dimension to the backfield with change of pace specialist Tarik Cohen,
Jordan Howard seemed to have the lead role secured without any solid
competition threatening to remove him of his duties. Over the course of his two
seasons in the NFL, Howard has been able to produce great numbers rushing for
2435 yards and finding the endzone a healthy 15 times on a club inept at throwing
the ball, quite impressive. Adding to that, notable traits from Howard’s
overall game includes his ability to block blitzing line backers and having
average to above average ability in catching passes out of the backfield. In
two seasons Jordan has been able to muster 52 receptions for 423 yards while
adding one score through the air, not bad for a guy that is pegged to have
bricks for hands.
When reviewing the production Howard has been able to generate
in his first two seasons, it’s quite baffling to hear potential trade rumors,
losing favor with the new coaching staff, and the public perception believing
that Jordan isn’t a true three down back. Given the circumstances offensively, the
Bears possessed no real threat of a viable passing attack where opposing
defenses were able to stack the box with eight and nine man fronts, to which
Howard still found ways to gain over 1000 yards in both of his first two
seasons. Having the knock entering the league as an injury concern, Jordan
again is proving the masses wrong only missing one contest in two years, which wasn’t
due to injury. Howard is perhaps the most undervalued player at the position,
outside Bears fans that is.
The Reality:
Witnessing what Howard does on the field is nothing short of
fantastic based on the team that was set up around him. Most coaches begin the
rebuild of a franchise with a solid running game to start, as finding a true
franchise pivot has proven to become a difficult task. ADF has become a
believer in the ability Jordan possesses, but entering the 2018 season, our
infatuation with the potential in this remade Bears offense has up licking our
chops. The added depth and star power to a receiving core to assist the
progression of their young gunslinger should only improve the outlook to the
Bears running game as a whole. There has been some concern suggesting Tarik
Cohen may eat into the share of carries that otherwise would go to Howard, but
we fully expect the same role as change of pace and pass catching back to
remain the standard as Jordan continues his lead role domination.
It’s important to understand the coaching tree which breed Matt
Nagy and the philosophy that dictates the schemes and systems which should be
applied in Chicago in year one of his tenure. Coach Andy Reid (Matt Nagy’s
mentor) enjoyed his best and most productive campaigns in the NFL when his lead
backs found their way to garner over 1000 yards rushing in those seasons. The
same can be seen when reviewing the winning formula when Andy Reid moved to
Kansas City (bringing Matt Nagy along for the ride), as more success has been
found with a solid run attack being the foundation of the offensive system. We
fully recognize that coach Nagy will integrate new formations and systems that
compliment his brand of instructing, but the overall footprint is what has
proven to be most successful in the past, which means Jordan Howard will be a
large part of this offense.
The Outlook:
While the main objective for the Bears heading into the 2018
season is to show vast improvement overall as a team, Jordan Howard should be the
main benefactor in this offense. Howard has seen his average carries hit 264 in
his first two years which should become the standard for his third campaign.
ADF envisions Jordan receiving somewhere in the neighbourhood of 250-280
carries from the backfield, and possibly hitting 20-30 receptions, lifting his
potential for touches to near the 300 mark. With any young quarterback trying
to make a giant leap, the reliance on the run game is supremely important to
keep opposing defenses off balance and honest, another point for the uptick on
Jordan Howard.
From the fantasy perspective, Jordan Howard was able to muster a
healthy 199.5 fantasy points
last season in PPR formats (Point Per Reception), giving him a 12.5 points per game average on
the season. In terms of overall production, Howard found himself placed as the
14th best running back in PPR leagues which isn’t horrible for
having one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL. Currently Howard holds an
ADP (Average Draft Position) at pick 25 and has been seen to fall all the way
into the 80’s in mock drafts, quite the varying opinion form the masses. For
our appetite, we view Howard as a potential steal if picked in the correct
round. Anything after the third round is a complete draft theft as Howard and
the Bears running backs hold the easiest schedule for running backs as of today.
We absolutely love the potential for the Bears offense in 2018 and fully
endorse Jordan Howard at the right price. We predict Howard to generate totals ranging
anywhere from; 250-280 carries, 1100-1350 yards, and 8-10 touchdowns, providing
sound RB1 numbers for your fantasy team. The Howard train is about to depart
the station, “All-Aboard”!
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