Chicago Bears: Taquan Mizzell, Ryan Nall fail to gain ground

Both Taquan Mizzell and Ryan Nall have been fighting for the Chicago Bears fourth running back spot. Through three preseason games, it is starting to feel like neither is going to get there

One camp battle we have been following throughout the late summer has been the back end of the Chicago Bears running back depth chart. All intentions are that Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen will carry the load. Benny Cunningham is a roster lock when healthy, and while he is dinged up now should be fine for Week One.

From there, the question was who do the Chicago Bears keep as the fourth running back, and do they keep five with the intentions of using a fullback?

One theme that emerged through the first two Chicago Bears preseason games was the usage of Michael Burton as a fullback. He was getting touches in the passing game and had run blocking value.

Burton pulled ahead in the lead for the fourth back, but he missed their third game with a small injury.

Without Cunningham and Burton, huge roles were up for grabs in this game. The team signed Knile Davis, but he did not play on offense given how recently he was signed.

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Unfortunately, with considerable chances to gain momentum Ryan Nall and Taquan Mizzell failed to get anything going.

It is worth noting that in the loss of Burton, Ryan Nall started as the fullback. If Michael Burton’s injury featured a more prolonged timetable, Nall would be in his role to step up. However, Matt Nagy hardly used Nall in the capacity that Burton saw in the first two games.

It became clear that the team feels as though they can run a more expanded playbook with Burton as a fullback than Nall.

From there, Mizzell still saw the field as a running back over Nall. By the end of the game, both saw four carries. Both picked up 10 yards, a measly 2.5 yards per attempt.

For the preseason Mizzell has 21 carries for 52 yards. Nall has 19 carries for 49 yards. It is worth noting that Mizzell had seven receptions in the Chicago Bears third game but picked up just 29 yards. Still, on the preseason he has nine receptions for 40 yards to only two for 14 from Nall.

The fact of the matter is that none of those stats make you say we have an NFL player, from either player. Mizzell and Nall have failed to take advantage of their chances. Do not be surprised when neither makes the 53-man roster.

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