Bears Facing a Running Back Gap in the NFC North

Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota have loaded up on all-purpose running backs while the Bears have David Montgomery and a group of niche players or undrafted rookies

Whether deserved or not, people always thought of the running game when they thought of Chicago Bears offense.

The Bears actually weren't the most effective of running teams over the last 25 years but the perception existed. At least they were better running it than passing.

Now the Bears have put themselves in danger of falling behind the rest of their own division as a rushing team. They lack sufficient running back numbers to compete with an injury to starter David Montgomery.

"We're comfortable there,' GM Ryan Pace said prior to the draft. "We're always looking to get better in every (position) room but I think they all bring different things to the table. They all have different flavors and styles. That's a well-balanced room."
 

Actually, it's not balanced because Montgomery is followed by a group of niche backs and not a proven NFL ball carrier. Their situation with backfield personnel borders on negligence from a personnel standpoint compared to the rest of the NFC North.

The Bears are the only team in the division without a viable or proven backup running back in case their starter goes down. All of the NFC North teams except the Bears have moved to strengthen their running attacks over the last two seasons.

The Bears, meanwhile, have David Montgomery, entirely untested Ryan Nall, receiving back Tarik Cohen and gimmick player Cordarrelle Patterson. Nall is the backup and has two NFL carries.

They've brought in undrafted free agents, which is the equivalent of saying they hope they have something. Artavis Pierce and Napoleon Maxwell are the backs and most undrafted free agent running backs are destined for final cuts or the practice squad.

Here's how the rest of the NFC North has left the Bears behind at a time when the NFC's best team last year was a running team and the best regular-season team in the NFL was a running team, the Baltimore Ravens.

Minnesota Vikings

Besides revamping their offensive line over the last two seasons, the Vikings have put together a group of proven all-purpose backs behind Dalvin Cook. When healthy, Cook has been extremely productive. His first 1,000-yard season came last year and he has had 40 or more catches each of the last two years. When the Lions cast off Ameer Abdullah in 2018, the Vikings were only two glad to pick him up and he averaged 5.0 yards a rush. They signed him back for this season as well as backup Mike Boone. Alexander Mattison averaged 4.6 yards a carry last year on 100 attempts and they also have him. These are not scatbacks limited to running outside the tackle like Cohen. They aren't wide receiver/kick returners like Cordarrelle Patterson. They are proven runners. On top of that, the Vikings have a commitment to run. They ran more than they passed last year.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers have brought in a beast of a back in A.J. Dillon. As long as he isn't overworked, they should have something here. However, Boston College ran Dillon into the ground and there's only so much mileage on running back's tires. Keeping him in a rotation of good backs like they have this year will be critical. They've put him together with Aaron Jones, who is coming off a career-best year, and Jamaal Williams, who averaged 4.3 yards a carry. Both Williams and Jones are in the final years of their contracts so this assembled stable won't be there in 2021. They might lose both veterans, but for now they have a running back trio like the 49ers last year.

Detroit Lions

Last year the Lions were a better rushing team than the Bears. It's the first time they had more rushing yards than the Bears since 2009. They weren't great at it, as injuries took a toll on their backs. But they were 21st in rushing and the Bears 27th. Now they have Georgia's D'Andre Swift, the second back taken this year, and he is added to Kerryon Johnson, who led them in rushing the last two years. Also, both Bo Scarbrough and Ty Johnson are on the roster and are hardly scatbacks or niche players. The Lions' obviously want to be serious ground gainers to take pressure off what looks like a shaky defense. Whether they have the offensive line to pull this off remains to be seen, but they definitely have more legitimate ball carriers to rely on in case of injuries than the Bears do.

Gearing Up

The Bears have been unable to run consistently in both of Matt Nagy's seasons. Their rushing yardage total in 2018 was propped up by Mitchell Trubisky's 419-yard rushing season. They actually only finished 27th in yards per attempt in 2018, and were 29th last year. Their solution was to bring in another offensive line coach rather than fix the offensive line with talent. 

The Bears have been the best run defense in the division on average over the last three years, and since 2018 when they've had Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith and Eddie Goldman on the field it's been virtually impossible to run on them. 

It's a good thing they're so effective stopping the run because they're going to get the test of their lives this year from other divisional running games.

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