Chicago Bears praised for Jordan Howard pick
With the 150th overall pick, in the fifth round, of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Jordan Howard. Howard, a running back, played his final college season with the Indiana Hoosiers after transferring from UAB after their program dissolved.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com recently came out with a list of his favorite picks, in terms of value, for each round of the draft. Jordan Howard was Zierlein’s favorite pick in the fifth round.
Howard’s stats back up Zierlein’s assertion. Despite missing four games due to injury this season, Howard managed to rack up over 1200 yards and drive in nine rushing touchdowns. Additionally, the UAB transfer set the second highest rushing total against Michigan in the history of the Wolverines program, when he tallied a heroic 238 yards.
AROUND COVER32
Power Rankings: Ranking the top ten NFL broadcasters
2016 Preview: A look ahead at the AFC North
NFL: Five year running back rankings
Big Money: The five most expensive NFL games of 2016
Nice stats in college do not necessarily equate to success at the pro level, but this should be no problem for Jordan Howard. At six feet tall, 230 pounds, he should complement the speedier and slighter-of-frame Jeremy Langford.
The loss of Matt Forte is one that the Chicago Bears have not downplayed. They have; however, asserted that they are confident in Jeremy Langford’s ability to fill in and/or make up for the production that will assuredly be lost by Forte’s absence moving forward. From a front office and coaching standpoint, this is a wise PR and personnel move. You certainly want Langford believing that he has your confidence, but does he fully have it?
Less than a week before the draft Ezekiel Elliott announced on The Dan Patrick Show that he was convinced that the Bears were in love with him and that he did not believe any other team was. Zeke went off the board several picks before the Bears selection at eleven, which made moving up two picks for a potential monster pass rushing in Leonard Floyd a no-brainer. If Elliot had been available at nine or eleven and the Bears would have selected him, I think we all know what that would have meant for Jeremy Langford.
Instead, the Bears waited to address their running back needs until the 5th round when they selected Jordan Howard who slipped considerably given his projection as a 2nd or 3rd round talent.
That is why this was such a great pick for the Bears. Howard may very well be competing not only for snaps at the running back position, but also for the starting job. At the same time, since the Bears only sacrificed a fifth round pick on the position, the front office and coaching staff can still ensure Langford of their confidence in his ability to be the star of their backfield.
The Chicago Bears not only added depth and the possibility of a late-round gem with this pick, but also managed not to threaten a big piece to their offensive puzzle. The Howard pick stands as another example of how well the Bears have done this offseason.
The post Chicago Bears praised for Jordan Howard pick appeared first on Cover32.
