Bears Back with Ability to Punish Tacklers

D'Onta Foreman can wear down defenses at 6-foot-1, 236 pounds but the question is whether he'll get that opportunity in a crowded Bears backfield.

After the hype about a Bears steal in Round 4 of the draft with Roschon Johnson, and talk about how Khalil Herbert owned the fifth-highest rushing average in Bears history, it almost seems there will be only two backs competing for the starting spot come July 25 reporting date or July 22 for rookies.

D'Onta Foreman almost seems forgotten, but anyone who saw him on the field the last two years wouldn't forget him. Foreman is a power back like the Bears haven't had in recent memory. He's only 3 pounds lighter than Ryan Nall was, at 236 pounds, and 14 pounds heavier than any halfback on the roster. He's even 3 pounds heavier than their fullback, Khari Blasingame. 

Yet, he also ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash coming into the NFL.

That was a long time ago, and this is the problem. He was a rookie in 2017 coming out of Texas as the Doak Walker Award winner and maybe one of the most highly touted Longhorns backs since Cedric Benson.

Injuries derailed his NFL career and he comes into this season with only 43 games played over the course of six years. It wasn't until last year when NFL teams really saw Foreman like he'd been envisioned coming out of Austin.

"I can't really speak for the coaches and the plan that they have," Foreman said upon arrival. "I came here to try to be the guy. I think if I didn't come here with that mentality, I would be doing myself a disservice."

So much for the back-by-committee approach.

That's because Foreman has been through the NFL spin cycle and it's little wonder he came to the Bears with a bit of a chip on his shoulder about getting a shot at starting. He's already seen enough time wasted in his career and wants to get on with running the ball.

His 336 carries the last two seasons were 229 more than in his first four years combined.

• Foreman tore his Achilles in the second half of his rookie year as he was just starting to get a shot at more carries with Houston, took a little over a year to rehab it and missed almost all of 2018.

• Then he was cut by the Texans in 2019 partly because of what they said were poor practice habits and missed starts to meetings.

• The Colts signed him when Bears coach Matt Eberflus was there in 2019 but cut him after a torn biceps in 2019 preseason.

• He had a handful of tryouts the but was out of football until the Tennessee Titans signed him to the practice squad in the 2020 season.

• In 2021 he emerged as the backup who benefited with carries when Derrick Henry was injured and did a decent impersonation of a monster back running hard out of the I-formation, before going to Carolina as a free agent for his career highs of 914 yards, 203 carries and 4.5 yards an attempt last year.

Foreman is the kind of back you bring in to pound the ball at opposing defenses, and they know it so they load up to stop him. NFL NextGen Stats tracked him as facing one of the highest percentages of eight-man boxes of all backs in the last two years.

Once Foreman builds up a head of steam, he's hard to stop and he runs with great efficiency. NextGen Stats last season tracked him as spending the fifth-least amount of time behind the line of scrimmage on runs at 2.64 seconds.

Imagine a back like this in the backfield with Justin Fields, who is just as likely to keep the ball and head off with 4.4-second speed in the other direction. It can tear the defense's attention in half. 

The Bears experienced this to some extent when Herbert was in the backfield last year because he had 21 runs of 10 yards or longer. Now they have two backs who ran below 4.5 seconds in the 40 and can run through tackles—Herbert was second in the league last year in average yards after contact at 2.5.

A big problem with Foreman is his lack of use in the passing game in the past, much like with Herbert but to an even greater extent. Foreman has caught only 23 passes on 31 targets for his career, but has been a threat to break big gains when he caught screens. He has an 11.5-yard average per catch, extremely high for a back.

"We will obviously try to put guys in the best position to have success,"running backs coach David Walker said. "But within the group there's a lot of guys that can do multiple things so I don't think we will have to be pigeonholed, saying that this guy can only do A,B and C."

This sounds like wishful thinking. If both Foreman and Herbert had been perceived as receiving threats and good pass blockers, then they probably would have been used more this way in the past. 

It's part of the reason the Bears went after pass receiving back Travis Homer in free agency and gave him a two-year contract. Johnson does give them pass catch ability, as does Trestan Ebner.

What they have in Foreman is a player capable of being a load back and finishing off games, but he's one who may need plenty of carries to show off his skills and that might not be something they can provide considering Herbert, Fields and even Johnson could get carries. It's a major consideration a fantasy football owner would need to take into account before drafting Foreman.

"So in terms of the managing, as guys deserve more reps because of their play they will get more reps because of their play," Walker said. "That's kind of how we do things around here in terms of early on. There will be a set and everybody will be involved.

"But as guys start to—if they start to—separate themselves, the guys that deserve more reps will get more reps."

After what he's been through over his first six years, expect Foreman to be trying to make up for lost time like he did last year.

D'Onta Foreman at a Glance

Vitals:  6-foot-1, 236 pounds, sixth season.

Career: Has 433 rushes, 1,901 yards, 10 touchdowns, a 4.3-yard average with 23 receptions on 31 targets for 265 yards, two TDs and an 11.5-yard average as well as a 74.2% catch ratio,

2022: Ran for 914 yards on 213 carries for 5 TDs and 4.5 yards per carry. He also had five receptions for 26 yards in nine targets for 5.2 yards a catch and a 55.6% catch ratio.

The Number: 21. The number of times he broke runs of 10 yards or longer last year for Carolina, the same number as Khalil Herbert but on 84 more attempts. He had none until Oct. 23 and the Panthers had only 11 as a team until then.

2023 FanNation Projection: 164 rushes, 688 yards,  8 TDs rushing, 4.1 yards a carry, 15 receptions, 151 yards, 21 targets, 10.1 yards a catch and a catch ratio of 71.4%

Bottom Line: There will be times in the season when Foreman gets used extensively and other times he doesn't. He'll need to adjust to this because there are other capable backs, but considering where he's been in the NFL it shouldn't be a problem.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven