Jordan Howard is a better fit in Matt Nagy offense
Everyone seems to be so concerned with Jordan Howard and how he will adjust to the Matt Nagy. The fact of the matter is that this should end up being a good thing for Howard
The rumors of Jordan Howard being a trade piece were so strong that Howard’s agent had to assure him that he would not be traded. However it happened, rumors started to buzz immediately from the signing of Matt Nagy that Jordan Howard was not the best fit.
They cited Nagy and his propensity to pass the football and spread the ball around with quick passing and wondered how Howard would fit. Howard is a downhill, I-formation type of runner, many thought.
However, contrary to popular belief, Howard has been efficient as a runner from the shot gun.
Howard shotgun splits last 2 yrs:
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 19, 2018
SG: 6.4 YPC, 52% Success
UC: 4.0 YPC, 43% Success
via https://t.co/CSKyP7awn9
More shotgun runs for Howard in 2018 thanks to Nagy would definitely be welcomed.https://t.co/JBR2Db3JHl
Howard also was only given the ball 35 times of his 361(10.3%) carries last year out of the shotgun while the Chiefs ran the shotgun 73% of the time. In 2017 he averaged 5.1 YPC down from 7.0 in 2016 on 94 carries. I expect him to be much more efficient in 2018. #Bears
— David Showalter (@daveshowtime) April 19, 2018
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Howard averaged 6.4 yards per attempt from shot gun, and was successful on 52% of runs. Under center he averaged 4.0 yards per carry and was successful just 43%. However, despite the numbers saying feed him from shotgun, just over 10% of his carries came in this manner. To almost the exact contrary, the Chiefs ran 73% of their carries from the shot gun formation.
Yes, there is the argument that Jordan Howard was only so successful from the shot gun because it was such a rare occurrence, it caught the defense off guard, small sample size, yada yada. Still, Howard is a vision runner and giving him those lanes and that step in the shot gun to see his blocks set up could be a true helper. Add in that the threat of pass is always more likely in this formation and it should be something that maintains despite being the staple of the offense.
So while some are going to tell you about Howard being such a bad fit. Just remember, he is going to do just fine, if not better than anyone could expect in this offense.