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Jordan Howard on thin ice?

Matt Nagy talks up Tarik Cohen

I would be a little nervous about Jordan Howard. He’s one of the better power runners – a big, physical guy who’s been productive – but I don’t know that he’s a great fit with Chicago’s new offense.

Matt Nagy comes from the Andy Reid family of coaches, so I would think he’s more partial to those kind of backs – Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, etc. I would think he would prefer backs who can both run and catch, maybe with some speed to pop outside.

Howard isn’t that kind of back. He’s a between-the-tackles banger.

I saw a blurb go by last week where Nagy was saying how impressed he’s been by Tarik Cohen.

“He’s actually the one kid on this team that I knew had a lot of talent, but he comes out here and runs every route the right way, catches most balls and he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Nagy said at the team’s OTAs. “He’s a player you get giddy about.”

I’m not saying Cohen will move into the starting lineup anytime soon. He’s tiny. And he was way too unpolished last year, losing yards on 26 percent of his carries. You may have seen the factoid I posted a month or two back, where I outlined that he was the worst yardage loser in about 10 years.

And Howard ain’t chopped liver. But this is a deal where it could become more of a committee in a hurry, with Cohen on the field maybe 40 percent of the time. If the Bears fall behind by a couple of scores, Cohen could become their primary back, running draws and catching dumpoff passes.

Howard’s most troubling flaws are in the passing game. He can’t catch worth a lick, and those plays can be killers. In their opener against Atlanta last year, for example, he dropped what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute (as shown in the photo with this story).

That wasn’t an isolated play. That’s just kind of who he is. Over the last two years, 42 running backs has had at least 50 passes thrown their way. Howard ranks last in that group, dropping passes more than twice as often as anyone else.

I’m not trying to dump on Howard. He’s a nice player, and I think you’ll see him putting up good rushing numbers for the next few years. Somewhere. But I’m not sure he fits in great with this offense – won’t do much as a pass catcher and could be dialed back into a part-time role.

RUNNING BACKS DROPS (2016-17)
PlayerRecDropPct
Lamar Miller670.0%
Charcandrick West550.0%
Christian McCaffrey8011.2%
Kyle Juszczyk7011.4%
Ty Montgomery6711.5%
Devontae Booker6111.6%
Charles Sims5911.7%
James White11621.7%
Tarik Cohen5311.9%
DeMarco Murray9222.1%
Chris Thompson8822.2%
David Johnson8622.3%
Todd Gurley10732.7%
Duke Johnson12743.1%
Ezekiel Elliott5823.3%
LeSean McCoy10943.5%
Alvin Kamara8133.6%
Kareem Hunt5323.6%
Mark Ingram10443.7%
Latavius Murray4824.0%
Jerick McKinnon9444.1%
Frank Gore6734.3%
Theo Riddick10654.5%
Bilal Powell8144.7%
Tevin Coleman5834.9%
Shane Vereen5535.2%
LeVeon Bell16095.3%
Melvin Gordon9965.7%
Javorius Allen4935.8%
T.J. Yeldon8055.9%
Devonta Freeman9066.3%
Travaris Cadet5646.7%
Giovani Bernard8266.8%
Isaiah Crowell6856.8%
Andre Ellington5147.3%
DeAndre Washington5147.3%
Darren Sproles5957.8%
Jalen Richard5658.2%
Matt Forte6768.2%
Carlos Hyde8688.5%
Jay Ajayi5158.9%
Jordan Howard521218.8%

—Ian Allan

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