Draft: RBs group of 2019

   Its been 50 days since Cody Parkeys last doink with the Bears, Ryan Pace did it again and kicked the kicker out of the team even before free agency hit. So the road to finding a new kicker has begun as well as a very probable boring offseason with the Bears having little cap room to consider getting high talent in this years free agency and down their first and second round picks this year, on the bright side this means that they wont have to pay big contracts to rookies and can maybe consider that cash somewhere else. But before the saga for the search of a new non-doinker, through-the-uprights kicker begins, I got through this years running back group invited to the 2019 Combine.

  The talk that Jordan Howard may not be the ideal player for Matt Nagys system has been on various analysts mouths, this may be true. Howard is a very good back and his dip in numbers cant be all on him, the Oline struggles on times to open holes and the passing game was still in its infant stage. Howard got much better at catching the ball on short routes, he is no burner running routes and wont catch high passes. He can punish tacklers and shed them but will not make tacklers miss with agility or with quickness by changing direction. So if Nagy prefers agility and speed over power then there are a hand full of backs I like that can maybe compliment Tarik Cohen without sacrificing speed.

   The obvious pick would be Josh Jacobs, punishing back with speed, balance and burst. Isn't really big but plays big, good receiver and blocker. He will be gone by the end of the first round so there is no chance the Bears will get him. So I really only have four players that I would accept the Bears drafting if they intend to replace Howard. 

   David Montgomery - I see him as a LeVeon Bell type of player with his patience and having enough speed and burst to attack holes for big gains. He lacks top speed but he can change direction with good balance, he can take on tacklers with enough strength. Hes could be an asset as a receiver.

   Myles Gaskin - A smaller player that the previous two but runs with patience and vision, has enough burst and speed to get to the hole, wont go down easy. Good balance to change direction and attack the perimeter. Can catch short passes but wont be a weapon as a receiver.

   Elijah Holifield - He doesn't have the typical size for a physical back but he looks to enjoy contact, pushes tacklers around and runs with aggression, not the fastest of the bunch but will fight for every yard but is agile enough to make cuts and change direction without losing too much speed. His receiving skills are a question mark but not his willingness to block.

   Tyveon Williams - Of all the small backs, I consider him the all around better option. He can be physical enough to gain hard yards, he has good speed, balance and agility. has good vision to be patient and find the hole. Can be a good receiver and doesn't shed from contact when blocking.

   Damien Harris and Karan Higdon could be better backs but Damien is too similar to compliment Cohen and Higdon doesn't have enough speed and agility. Rodney Anderson, Alex Barnes and Qadree Ollison are good backs but too similar to Howard, also Anderson has a serious injury history. One intriguing runner is Darnell Henderson, he is a burner that reminds me of Chris Johnson, small but not as small as Cohen although less physical and agile.

   

   So if these four are not there for the Bears to take, I would roll with Howard on his contract year.