AZ54

I do. Nagy could have given those snaps to Cohen last year if he felt he could handle it and instead he gave them to Smokeless Mizzell. Surprisingly Nagy even gave 1 snap to Mizzell in the playoff game for -1 yards. All that just makes me think he used Cohen as much as he wanted to last year and stuck to his plan even in a critical situation. If he wouldn't change then I don't think Nagy will next season. I don't view Davis as the replacement for Howard either. I just don't think he can handle the workload. He may however be the piece that let's Pace/Nagy take two off-seasons to find their new starting RB. That assumes Nall can fill in for Howards snaps but even then I think we still draft one player at RB. It just might not be as critical a need as many (most really) think it is. That could let them feel good enough to take a chance on a player like Love or Anderson on day 3.

I don't see Cohen picking up 25% more carries without it affecting him. Plus he's still indecisive as a RB and makes bad decisions too often instead of taking what's there. He's tough but he's just not that big and gets rag dolled too often. I like what Nagy did keeping him outside the numbers more often than not so he has an option with the sideline to escape the big hits. The upside is his ability to make big plays so you want his versatility back there especially later in the game. I just think if we give him too much work load he'll lose some of that edge and won't be as explosive when the defense is tired late in the games, and really late in the season. We also want to keep him fresh for punt returns. I believe that's why we suffered through the few MIzzell carries per game last year when those carries could have easily gone to Howard. I think Nall is part of the plan or Pace wouldn't have cut Howard loose pre-draft. It's just not his style to have a glaring need.

I agree. Everything is on the table when Pace is drafting. Even if he's trading the pick he got in exchange for Howard to draft a kicker in Rd 7.

Myles Gaskin recently completed his visit with the Bears. I like him as a day 3 pick, 5-7th Rd depending on who's ranking him. He's not fast but he's pretty quick and has some ability to make the unblocked defender miss in the hole. He's not too slow either, he just doesn't have long speed so if he gets past the 2nd level he can get run down 30-40yds down field. He's got good hands but he's not big enough to handle 20+ snaps a game but for a RBBC approach he should be ok with 15-20. That size limitation shows up in pass pro as well, but on the flip side he runs hard between the tackles.

The main point in the Blount videos is that Doug Pedeson didn't care to use him much as a receiver. In 2017 Blount had a total of 8 receptions so production from his big back in the passing game is not something Pederson is worried about. If he were, he wouldn't gone out and signed Blount for a year. Now he's got Jordan Howard, a somewhat similar big RB who can get some tough yards but who doesn't offer much in the passing game. People keep saying the Eagles run the same offense as we do so why can they get something out of Howard and we can't? That's not the point and Nagy has already proven he can get production out of Howard. It's just Nagy feels he can get more production from the entire offense with a RB who is more versatile than Howard. Pederson has shown he's ok working with those limitations. Even in the same offense there are preferences for which plays Nagy or Pederson want to call to attack a defense.

What a difference a year makes. A losing team pays Aaron Lynch $4mil to play for one season. A 12-win team pays him $1.4mil. No wonder Lynch sounded a bit despondent after he re-signed. If he wasn't getting much of an offer around the league his best chance for a big contract is returning to the Bears for one season playing alongside Mack, Floyd, Hicks, and Goldman. If he puts up 10 or more sacks he'll get paid next year. Plus he knows Pagano is more aggressive going after the QB than Fangio was. Lynch isn't great off the edge but if Pagano uses more inside blitzes it will force QBs into Lynch's arms more often. Even those half-sacks add up.

Question for ya... knowing how Blount was used in Philly that season don't you think Nall can fill that role? If the bar is finding a big RB who can get the tough yards, 700-800 on a season but we can do that for $500k vs. $2mil (+6th Rd pick) then we might be in a better spot. Nall is a more versatile athlete than Blount. Whether or not he's a better player is yet to be decided. I noticed two things in the videos. One, both Blount and Nall hurdle over tacklers. Not that I'd ever advise any RB to do that but it's something I don't recall Howard doing (maybe I'm wrong). For me it's just a sign of athleticism that Howard didn't have as much of. (FWIW I think Blount has the best lateral quickness/agility of the 3 RBs in this discussion) Two, there are but two highlights of Blount catching a pass. In both cases he's static and facing back to the QB, which is usually how Howard catches a football. Nall is catching passes all over the field on short to intermediate routes, and he's doing it in stride. The main reason this matters is that having a big RB who isn't a receiving threat doesn't appear to be a concern for Pedersen. It seems to matter a great deal to Nagy.

For the same reason Pedersen wanted LeGarrette Blount? I'm not good enough to breakdown differences between Pedersen and Nagy but I think it's fair to say that while there are strong similarities in both offenses maybe not everything is the same. After just one season I think we already know Nagy is more of a gambler than Pedersen is. How many times have the Eagles run Santa's Sleigh? Maybe it's not that Nagy couldn't use Howard, he proved that last year. Rather as the guy said in the video breakdown, there is much to the offense that Nagy wants to run that he couldn't call or the plays just weren't effective when Howard was in. All I know is Pace and Nagy were determined to get two things done this offseason. One was finding a new kicker, the other was finding some new RBs. This is the first time I can think of where Pace has intentionally forced himself into a spot where he must draft a player at a specific position. Despite his limitations to let go of Howard, with the timing of it being after all the Combine and Pro Day workouts, means they are confident they can find a RB that fits the scheme better in Rd 3-5.

Good breakdown of Jordan Howard's fit in Nagy's offense.

Their running styles are quite similar but one on the roster is enough for me.

This years version of Tarik Cohen...

I wish we'd seen some of Nall near the end of the season instead of Mizzell. I still think he can find a spot on the roster either as the last TE/H-back or as our power back. He's not nimble but is versatile enough as a receiver to offer more routes than Howard (FWIW his 3-cone drill time was sub-7sec and about 2 tenths faster than Howard). At his size he might be able to provide some of the tough short yardage plays we need now that we're without Howard. It's hard to know where Nall fits, if he does at all, based on a few preseason plays against lesser competition. Mizzell looked bad in preseason and somehow he got playing time. What we know: Nagy kept a FB, Burton, and Howard last year so there was some preference for a power running game. Moving on from Howard ast year didn't leave us many options but the FB was something of a luxury in final cuts. Nagy often use a 3rd OT so again he wanted to go big at times. Nagy was instrumental in recruiting Nall as a UDFA. https://247sports.com/Article/Ryan-Nall-named-Chicago-Bears-most-exciting-UDFA-addition-in-2018-118748901/ "They didn't draft any running backs, they didn't sign any other free agent running backs, so they told me I'm going to be the only rookie running back coming into camp," Nall said on Rip City Mornings,via NBC Sports Northwest. "Obviously I visited there, so I know what kind of offense they're going to run. They all said they see me as their big back. Obviously, going into camp and going into rookie mini and fall camp, I've got to be able to make the roster, make the team, but that's their vision they saw in me. "They want me to be that big back that they know [can come in] late in games and can pound the rock a couple times, open up the passing game, pass protection, third-down back—things like that. I think I really gravitated toward that." Nagy and Pace let Daniel Brown leave for a vet-min type of deal. Potentially opening some roster space. Nagy and Pace have not signed FB Michael Burton. Another player who would likely only get a vet min deal. They could still come to an agreement but it's clear this Burton is not a key part of the plan. Nall runs hills to get better. https://twitter.com/samjohnsonPDX/status/1094055389014814720 (joking here) What I think I know: I don't see us drafting a big RB as there aren't many, if any, who fit what Nagy wants to do. Tarik Cohen is nothing more than a part-time RB / slot WR. His role won't change this year. RB Mike Davis is nothing more than a solid #3 RB to replace Mizzell, and is just good enough to give you a few games as a starter. We need to add two RBs to fill out the roster. We could draft two RBs but keeping two rookies around learning a complex offense while at the same time adjusting to the NFL is a risk. IMO that's not Pace's style. Unless the second RB gets parked on the practice squad for year. Or is Nall one of these two RBs we will rely on heading into training camp?

I want to win a Superbowl and really don't care about comp picks. Those are nice to have but after just one winning season in recent memory I'm not confident we are a stable winning franchise loaded with depth players who can step up into starting roles. Pace is right to hedge his bets at OLB by re-signing Lynch. If Fitts develops as I think he can then next year we bid adieu to Lynch. Pace waited for Lynch's market value to come down to what he wanted to spend, at least close enough to what Pace was offering that Lynch preferred the shot at a Superbowl and possibly a very big payday afterward.

Warring I like, I can see him contributing in a variety of ways. Dax Raymond I'm less enthusiastic about. Seems a bit stiff in his movement skills. I'll have to check out the other two later.

Certainly seems like he has the character Pace likes to have on the roster. Won't be ready to play until middle of training camp. If we draft him we have to have someone else who can carry the load early in the season.

I feel we just swapped better run defense skills for better coverage skills. If Ha-Ha stays disciplined and does not get selfish going after big play after big play then we'll be just fine. Ha-Ha has a lot of future money riding on the line this year. Having Eddie Jackson in his ear helps in a big way.

I see us needing two RB at the moment. I can see one taken in Rd3/4 and then using one of our 7th Rd picks on another. Drafting two would give us some flexibility to take a chance on someone like Love or Rodney Anderson. I can't see us taking a risk and using the higher pick on an injured player.

Bearswire listed 4 RBs in the draft who could replace Howard. Alex Barnes is one I hadn't yet scouted. His NFL comp is Matt Forte and he wears #34...that's a good place to start. Actually the Forte comp feels right. He's not great at anything but is something of a jack-of-all-trades. He has some nice receptions deep down field including a nice one-handed grab between the CB and S down the sideline. He's so far down the list of prospects he's definitely someone for late Day 3.

I was in the trade Howard camp since it seemed inevitable he wasn't a good fit in this offense but this is not a Ryan Pace type of move, and I don't like it. I don't see the proper return value so it seems we should have just stuck with him through camp. More importantly Pace always wants to go into the draft with no glaring needs. Now he has one. Cohen is not really a RB in the NFL but he can handle a few snaps there. Davis is just a 3rd RB. The only way I'd have expected Pace to make this deal is if he has another RB already agreeing to a deal, someone like TJ Yeldon. That FA will cost him 3-5mil/yr and he didn't want to also eat Howard's $2mil cap hit. Even if we sign a FA this now leaves room on the roster for a rookie RB. I have to believe some FA RB news is on the horizon.

He also said that in years past it wasn't always that way “To be honest, sometimes you can be in a position where guys just flat out don’t want to be there. Or if you want them, you have to grossly overpay." We know that pretty much holds true with the FAs he had to bring here in the last few years. To his credit he always left a way out after a year even if it cost him a lot to do that while also managing to keep around the few good players like Hicks and Amukamara.

Because Nagy wants to use page 2 of the play sheet on early downs. We just signed Mizzell's replacement so that misery should be gone. I like Jordan Howard a lot but we'll never see plays like the one at 3:50sec. Every time I watch some film on a mid-round RB prospect I come back and watch some of Henderson. Each time I think Henderson is the better prospect. He's not perfect and I don't see him ever handling a workload like Howard can but with some RBbyCommittee with Davis, Cohen, and now even Patterson sprinkled in we'd be ok.

I don't quite see the 3rd Rd love for Ximines. I see him ranked around 100 overall in a lot of places. When I watch this I see a guy who is good only when nobody blocks him for the first 3 quarters. Then late in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line he looks like a completely different player. I'd take the 4th quarter version in a heartbeat but that lack of effort raises questions marks for me. I watched a second game against Marshall as well and there he looked better and more aggressive but that's against lesser competition. How does all this translate against NFL OTs? He doesn't have a lot of length either but seems to be pretty strong. IMO he seems more like a day 3 prospect.

Is that the right URL? Nothing shows up for me.

I don't want to be in the mix at that price. I figured he'd be a good $7-9mil/yr player depending on how serious the injury history is.

I suspect that was actually a post I wrote and the info came from my son as we watched a game late in the season. He was a college soccer player who could pretty much put a soccer ball on whichever post you wanted it.