Is Jordan Howard a top five RB?

[xer0h0ur]

Look at it this way. Howard managed to still get a thousand yards rushing last year despite us having Glennon and a rookie QB

The more important factor to point out was that he faced THE most stacked boxes year round and still managed 1000 yards.

Not a chance in hell I would rate Howard any worse than 4th best back.

 

[Chicago Staleys]

Why no love for Hunt?? The guy is a superstar.

 

[Alpha Male]

He is a top 5 runner but not a top 5 rb. Part of rb's jobs is the block and catch as well as run. He is a good blocker but not a good catcher. A rb has the be good at all 3.

 

[jooo83]

You make a very solid argument Howard is a top 10 back. He has an impressive combination of power, vision, and patience. He also doesn't complain or make excuses despite taking a beating every weekend while facing stacked defenses. But you can't objectively put him in the top 5 unless he improves his pass catching skills. He also lacks break away speed. I know the mere mention of a weakness to Howard's game upsets some but it doesn't make it any less true. I look forward to seeing how he fits into Nagy's offense (hopefully he faces far less 8 man fronts) and whether or not he improves as a pass catcher this season.

 

[xer0h0ur]

He is a top 5 runner but not a top 5 rb. Part of rb's jobs is the block and catch as well as run. He is a good blocker but not a good catcher. A rb has the be good at all 3.

AP in his heyday was an absolute shit pass catcher. So that alone invalidates your argument.

 

[dabears70]

And no way Fournette and Johnson belong in top 5. Why you on Murray's dick, OP?

No way does Johnson belong in top 5? Please tell me you're not talking about David Johnson? If so then you're crazy cause he's right there with L.Bell as the best all around RB in the NFL.

 

[dabears70]

Freeman has averaged almost 1500 yards from scrimmage and over 11 TDs over the last 3 years. He's no doubt top 10.

And they still give T.Coleman a good amount of touches in rec and rushing and Freeman still puts up great stats.

I love J.Howard but if you want to do this honestly then you have to take in not only rushing but receiving as well and that's where Howard drops behind some of these other all around RB's. If you're just looking at what these RB's do rushing the ball then Howard and his excellent vision is top 7 or so but it's all about what these RB's can do with their rushing and receiving these days.

D.Johnson
L.Bell
T.Gurley
E.Elliott
L.McCoy
D.Freeman

Not sure how i'd do the order for the rest in the all around RB rankings but these guys will all be before J.Howard in some order and i'm not gonna overlook any of the guys that were rookies last year or got hurt, i'm going by what i saw from them when they did play.

S.Barkley will be in that top class after his rookie season cause this kid is gonna be great but since he hasn't played in the NFL yet then i won't put him on this list but i 100% believe in Barkley.

A.Kamara
K.Hunt
M.Gordon
D.Cook

Then i put L.Fournette and J.Howard so i have Howard just outside the top 10 for all around RB's but i am expecting a big year from Fournette in rushing and receiving.

 

[dabears70]

AP in his heyday was an absolute shit pass catcher. So that alone invalidates your argument.

I'm with you on how Howard faced stacked boxes every damn week and i think he has some of the best vision in the NFL but as a all around RB he isn't where many of these others are at and when AP was at his best RB's weren't catching as many passes as they do now unless you're talking about the D.Sproles types. I'm really really hoping Nagy still gives J.Howard plenty of opportunities to show he can catch the ball this year and doesn't just put Cohen in every time they wanna pass to the RB.

 

[Alpha Male]

AP in his heyday was an absolute shit pass catcher. So that alone invalidates your argument.

Different time. There was a time when marty ball was a good strategy. As we saw last year that isn't the case anymore.

 

[Toast88]

No way.

I love Jordan Howard and would like him to stay a Bear for a long time, but there are just a lot of good running backs right now—running backs I would think are pretty clearly better:

Ezekiel Elliott is better. LeVeon Bell is better. Heck, even Kamara and Hunt are probably better, although time will tell this year and next on those two. Add in Todd Gurley and David Johnson—maybe even Leonard Fournette—and there’s no way Howard is top 5. And I wouldn’t think there’s very many non-Bears fans who would disagree with me.

 

[PrideisBears]

Bell
Gurley
Johnson
McCoy
Howard


No im not putting Elliott in my top 5.

 

[Chicago Staleys]

Howard is NOT a top 5 running back.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

As a non-Bears fan I'm going:

Bell
Gurley
David Johnson(assuming he comes back similarly to 2016 form)
Elliott
Fournette

with McCoy and Howard also being somewhere in the convo

Elliott does get some benefit from the O line, but the Cowboys don't really have the benefit of a strong passing attack which can bleed pressure off the front 7. And our offense suffered without Elliott on the field this past season, he is our most valuable player on that side of the ball period. I'd say he's around 3/4 RB ranking wise, definitely top 5.

 

[PrideisBears]

As a non-Bears fan I'm going:

Bell
Gurley
David Johnson(assuming he comes back similarly to 2016 form)
Elliott
Fournette

with McCoy and Howard also being somewhere in the convo

Elliott does get some benefit from the O line, but the Cowboys don't really have the benefit of a strong passing attack which can bleed pressure off the front 7. And our offense suffered without Elliott on the field this past season, he is our most valuable player on that side of the ball period. I'd say he's around 3/4 RB ranking wise, definitely top 5.

Do you think he will reproduce or even come close too his rookie season numbers? I'm skeptical since during his rook year he and dak and zero tape on them and the Cowboys had offensive weapons. This year I couldnt name a WR on the team

 

[Black Rainbow]

After looking closer, I gotta change my vote to no. It's hard to argue in Howard's favor when other backs are getting 1,000 rushing yards & 400 - 600 receiving yards. I'm old school and like power runners, but Howard would have to get an additional 300 receiving yards to be in the conversation.

Even Howard admits it's a weakness and he wasn't called on for receiving yards in college. IMO, most guys are what they are at this point, so I don't see a big change coming with Nagy.

 

[Tostada]

Watch Howard catch 2 Td's passes opening night.

 

[Omeletpants]

 

[Tostada]

Can they play Angry Birds?

 

[JoJoBoxer]

After looking closer, I gotta change my vote to no. It's hard to argue in Howard's favor when other backs are getting 1,000 rushing yards & 400 - 600 receiving yards. I'm old school and like power runners, but Howard would have to get an additional 300 receiving yards to be in the conversation.

Even Howard admits it's a weakness and he wasn't called on for receiving yards in college. IMO, most guys are what they are at this point, so I don't see a big change coming with Nagy.

I agree with everything but the last part.

If a Bears CB can go from absolute stone hands to a good receiver in one off-season (forget the name and too lazy to look it up), Howard can definitely improve his receiving to become a serviceable receiver, not a great receiver.

Remember that he didn't have to receive in college because that is what they expected of him. He gets to the Bears and Fox expects the same damn thing that he was expected to do in college. Now that he has a modern day coach, he is expected to receive so he is and will practice how to receive.

 

[Bearly]

Different time. There was a time when marty ball was a good strategy. As we saw last year that isn't the case anymore.

That was Forte's and McCoy's time. Ever hear of Marshall Faulk, Thurman Thomas, Reggie Bush, Eric Metcalf, Ronnie Harmon? No one reinvented the wheel here. WTF are you trying to rationalize. If you excel at one facette, it will outweigh a
deficiency elsewhere.

Personally, I don't care where he's ranked. I just want an O that can score without a top 5 back whether he is or isn't one.