Chicago Bears: Tarik Cohen is ready for third down role

Tarik Cohen is going be seeing the field more for the Chicago Bears in a variety of ways in 2018

Every day that passes, the way the 2017 Chicago Bears offense was ran sounds funnier and funnier. Remember last season when Tarik Cohen was not seeing the field because he was drawing double teams? Or because he was not a strong pass blocker?

Well Chicago Bears new running back coach Charles London tends to disagree based on what he has seen in early OTA practices. London spoke glowingly of his ability so far.

"“He’ll stick his nose in there and protect,” London said. “He understands protections. He understands route-running. So I wouldn’t put it past him. He can do a lot of things."

Last season, Benny Cunningham saw the majority of the third down back role. Cunningham was strong in the role, but he is a limited player. The team should

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focus on getting a more dynamic threat like Cohen used to that sort of role. Not only can he pass block, he can run routes, and extend the field as a deep threat.

Benny Cunningham played 17% of the teams offensive snaps last season. Tarik Cohen played 36%. With almost all of Cunninghams snaps coming on third down, it will be interesting to see what kind of decrease in playing time he may see this year.

You would assume the team wants to get Cohen on the field at least 40% of the time next season and it should be closer to 50. Most of that is going to come from Cunningham. The team is already talking about getting Cohen involved more on third down.

Tarik Cohen has already shown well as a pass blocker in practice. The team has belief in him, and this is likely not a great time for Benny Cunningham’s offensive prospects.

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