Bears should draft a running back, not re-sign Homer |
The Bears went into this season with five running backs - D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Darrynton Evans and Khalil Herbert. Herbert was traded mid-season to the Cincinnati Bengals, while Homer is set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason.
Homer has been with Chicago the past two seasons, playing in 26 games. In those games, Homer has registered just 23 rushing yards. He was always meant to be a depth piece in the running back room. However, even with the Bears’ rushing offense being one of the worst in the league, the six-year veteran played just 75 snaps all of last season. Chicago has a lot of cap space going into his offseason, so they could certainly afford to keep Homer for running back depth. However, it does not make much sense for Homer or the Bears to sign him for another contract in Chicago. This creates a problem for the Bears because it would reduce their running back room to three people. Swift had a fine season with 959 rushing yards and six touchdowns. However, he was incredibly inconsistent throughout the year, with seven games under 40 rushing yards and only one game over 100 rushing yards. While an improved offensive line would help, that does not cut it. Johnson helped create a change of pace a little bit. He also recorded six rushing touchdowns, although he specialized as a goal line back, as all of his touchdowns were one-yard scores. He only played 28 percent of the offensive snaps for the 14 games he was available. Therefore, Chicago is lacking a strong running back duo, and keeping Homer does not solve that problem. Going to free agency is not the solution either. Last year was the year to go after an elite running back. This year, the top candidates in free agency seem to be Aaron Jones, who had a strong year with the Minnesota Vikings and could be resigned, and Najee Harris. Harris has recorded four straight 1,000-yard seasons, although that appears to be more of a reflection of how Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin runs his offense than Harris’ ability. Luckily for the Bears, the draft seems to have a solid running back class. They will not be drafting the top back in the class, Ashton Jeanty, out of Boise State, who was also the runner-up for the Heisman, because Jeanty will most likely be a first-round pick. Chicago has more pressing concerns than running back, particularly at the offensive line. That is where the Bears will use their first-round selection and should use their second-round picks between the offensive and defensive lines. However, the Bears have five other picks to work with—their third-round pick, their fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and two seventh-round picks, one from the Cleveland Browns and the other from the Cincinnati Bengals. Between those picks, Chicago can use one of those on a decent running back with a lot of potential. Numerous backs fall into this category. Some examples of backs who appeared in the College Football Playoffs are Cam Skattebo with Arizona State and TreVeyon Henderson with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Skattebo led the Big 12 in carries (293) and rushing yards (1,711), although his draft stock is all over the place. Some projections have him go in the third round, and others as late as the fifth round. Henderson plays in a pass-heavy offense with the Buckeyes, although he still managed to accrue 967 rushing yards and lead the Big 10 in yards per attempt (7.3 yards). He also recorded 10 rushing touchdowns. Both Skattebo and Henderson were involved in the passing game, although Skattebo had more receiving yards. Either of these backs would be an improvement from Homer and could set the Bears up in the future by allowing them to develop a young back with a lot of potential while also not costing too much cap space.
