The Chicago Bears met with Benny Snell at the NFL combine. Would he be a good fit for their offense?
Whether or not the Chicago Bears move on from Jordan Howard, one thing that has become clear is that they are in the market to draft a running back. Howard is a free agent next year and the team still is looking to upgrade over Benny Cunningham and Taquan Mizzell. Is Benny Snell a fit?
Strengths
Has put in heavy workloads at the college level. Snell has patience behind the line of scrimmage for a power back. However, his biggest attribute is his power. He is a pile pusher and a player who falls forward for the extra yard.
Weakness
His college workload is a double edge sword where other backs come in with less wear on their tires. Snell also lacks breakaway speed and is not an overly explosive back at all. His role in the NFL may be relegated to goal line duties.
Skinny
When it comes to Benny Snell, he is a much closer Jordan Howard replacement than he is a compliment. Snell checked into the combine at 224 pounds.
If they were to add Snell to replace Howard, the question then becomes whether or not it is an upgrade. That is very debatable.
Snell is a bit limited in the passing game. In college, he had a 4.2% target share, the same as Jordan Howard. Snell does not bring much wiggle or deep speed, either. In fact, at 230 pounds Jordan Howard ran a 4.59 40-yard dash. Snell ran a 4.67 weighing six fewer pounds.
Two of the biggest issues that the Bears seem to have with Howard are his ability to spring explosive plays, as well as his ability to add to the passing game. In Snell, they would be adding a player with less breakaway speed and similar passing game value.
Howard posted a 107 weight adjusted athletic score, Snell posted a 101. Coming out of college Howard was the more athletic back with a similar passing game volume. Howard also averaged 5.7 yards per carry in college compared to 5.2 yards per carry from Benny Snell.
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Overall, going from Snell to Howard is a downgrade. Even in his upside, it would be tough to envision Snell bringing a similar impact that Howard brought as a rookie.
Is there a role for Benny Snell in the NFL? Yes. A team looking for a Howard could find Snell in the fifth round and hope to plug and play him similarly to Howard.
For the Bears there are better options that fit what they are looking for. If Snell fell into the sixth round or later, his goal line value and depth at running back could be worth an investment. However, he is a less polished version of Howard without the upside of Howard.
Howard is entering his last season of his rookie contract, so the team could get Snell at a much cheaper price for the next four seasons. However, they could be better served holding onto Howard and trying again next year at a cheaper back.
If the Bears draft a running back he has to either compliment Howard, or present the chance to be better than Howard. Snell does neither.