Chicago Bears: Full Position Breakdown and Depth-Chart Analysis at Running Back
Published by Matt Eurich on June 9, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
For years the Chicago Bears were known as a run-oriented team, but the team got away from running the football during former head coach Marc Trestman’s time in Chicago from 2013-2014.
Quarterback Jay Cutler struggled with turnovers when the team became more pass-oriented under Trestman, but new head coach John Fox knows running the football will help take some of the pressure off his veteran quarterback.
‘‘Playing defense [and] playing complementary football is going to be something that helps,’’ Fox said this offseason, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Luckily for the Bears, if they opt to play complementary football and put a bigger emphasis on the running game this season, they have one of the best running backs in the game pegged as their starter in 2015.
The Starter
Ever since the Bears drafted him in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, Matt Forte has been one of the league’s most consistent running backs. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards five times in seven seasons, and he missed the 1,000-yard mark in 2011 by just three yards and missed it in 2009 by 71 yards.
In addition to being one of the league’s best on the ground over the last seven seasons, he has also been a threat in the passing game. Last season he hauled in a career-high 102 passes for 808 yards, and he has registered 443 catches for 3,727 yards with 16 receiving touchdowns in his career.
He has one year left on his current deal, and even though he opted not to participate in Chicago’s voluntary minicamp earlier this offseason, he rejoined the team at the start of organized team activities.
“Nobody wants to play on a one-year deal, especially with the uncertainty of how football is,” Forte said last month, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune.
Even though he is not happy about playing with just one year left on his deal, Forte has no plans to hold out this offseason.
“You just figure a guy who has been there since Day 1, who continues to put in hard work and has produced should be rewarded,” Forte said, per Wiederer. “But in this business that doesn’t always happen. … It is (difficult to accept). But I don’t take it out on the coaches or my teammates or anything like that.”
Forte is locked into the starting running back role on offense this season, but new offensive coordinator Adam Gase has not discussed how the team plans on using him in 2015.
“[Forte’s] role will define itself as we get going,” Gase said, according to Jahns. “We’re still evolving right now.”
The former Tulane star has carried the football 1,817 times in his NFL career, but he has shown no signs of slowing down. He is a versatile back who excels both inside and outside the tackles when running the football, and there are few running backs in the NFL who are better pass-catchers out of the backfield.
Even though Forte will once again be a focal point on offense in 2015, Fox has a history of using multiple running backs, and he has talked about spreading out carries among his backs this season.
“We’ve always been believers in kind of a one-two punch and rolling guys through there whether it’s the D-line; a wave of those guys to stay fresh,” Fox said, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “I’ve always had the approach the same thing with running backs.”
If Chicago decides to use multiple running backs next season, they have a handful of capable backs on the roster.
The Backups
While Forte sits atop the depth chart at the running back position, the rest of the depth chart is wide-open.
As it currently stands, the Bears have Ka’Deem Carey, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jeremy Langford and Senorise Perry all behind Forte on the depth chart, but none has solidified himself as the No. 2 running back so far this offseason.
Chicago drafted Carey in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and he began last season as Forte’s primary backup. But he played just 100 snaps on offense and finished the year with 158 rushing yards on 36 attempts.
Carey was a two-time All-American at Arizona and was one of college football’s most productive running backs, but he was not given a fair opportunity last season. He appeared to be the front-runner for the No. 2 job when free agency began back in March, but the team signed Rodgers to a one-year deal and drafted Langford in the fourth round in May.
The former Wildcat was a bruising runner at Arizona and ran for 4,239 yards with 48 touchdowns in three seasons, and he could develop into a reliable option behind Forte. But he will need to improve in pass protection. On a handful of occasions last season, Carey struggled in pass protection and was relegated to the bench following his miscues.
To solve some of the team’s pass-protection woes, the Bears added a proven third-down running back in Rodgers. He was taken in the fifth round of the 2011 draft by the Atlanta Falcons and was a consistent contributor for the team in a limited role.
In four seasons with the Falcons, Rodgers rushed for 1,116 yards on 305 carries and scored five touchdowns, and he also hauled in 155 passes for 1,104 yards and scored five receiving touchdowns. He is a downhill, between-the-tackles runner. But he is at his best as a receiver out of the backfield, and he likes the different ways Gase uses running backs in his system.
“Running back-wise, a lot of different things,” Rodgers said, according to Arthur Arkush of ChicagoFootball.com. “They use us a lot in passing downs, so that’s a good thing. You can never get a niche on what the running back’s doing, so it’s good for us.”
In addition to being a good pass-catcher, Rodgers also takes pride in his pass-protection abilities.
“I take pride in that; I fear nobody,” said Rodgers, per Arkush. “That’s how you got to approach it.”
Rodgers is a proven commodity in the NFL, and his versatility lends itself well to Gase’s scheme. He is projected to be the team’s primary third-down back, but his role could expand if either Carey or Langford struggles in training camp.
Langford is the most intriguing name on Chicago’s roster at the position because his skill set is different than the team’s other running backs. While Forte, Carey and Rodgers are all viewed as downhill runners, Langford is a speed back who is at his best when he is able to get to the edge and makes defenders miss in the open field.
A two-year starter at Michigan State, Langford (6’0″, 208 lbs) rushed for 2,944 yards on 568 carries and scored 40 touchdowns for the Spartans after he converted from defensive back to running back after the 2011 season.
His 4.42 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine in February was the fastest among all running backs, and his speed translates to the field. While the other backs on the roster make their living between the tackles, Langford is a slasher who does a nice job of seeing holes and using his speed to burst through them.
He is a willing blocker in pass protection and has above-average hands for the position. He will need to get stronger in order to pick up yards after contact in the NFL, but he has as good of a shot as anyone on the roster to start the season as the No. 2 running back.
One back who could sneak onto the roster this offseason with a strong showing is Perry. Signed by the team as an undrafted free agent last offseason, Perry appeared in all 16 games in 2014 on special teams. He recorded nine special teams tackles and returned four kickoffs for 88 yards.
He appears to be a long shot to make the team out of training camp, but if one of the other running backs falters this offseason, his experience on special teams could help him earn a spot on the roster.
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Snap counts courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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