Chicago Bears: 3 late-round gems Ryan Pace must target in 2020 NFL Draft

James Robinson, RB, Illinois State

Small school (check), productive (check), undervalued (check). It seems to align with Pace’s draft history, which is why James Robinson makes a lot of sense to add to the backfield. The Bears have just David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen as regular contributors for the running back group, and it was painfully evident that they missed Jordan Howard last season.

I don’t care that Howard lacks the ideal pass-catching ability. The Chicago Bears needed a back who could get those tough yards. And that’s not a knock on Montgomery. He played admirably as a rookie, but he also played behind a terrible offensive line and received little support from Cohen.

Robinson is likely to go in the seventh round because he lacks the true open field speed and didn’t get the same exposure as he would have playing at a Power Five school. At a similar stature at Howard, 6-foot-0, 220 pounds, Robinson has tremendous patience and hits the hole as soon as he sees it.

And while his footwork is a work in progress, his balance remains to be something that you can’t teach. He earned regular carries as a junior and senior, accumulating a combined 3,200 rushing yards on 569 carries to go along with 30 touchdowns.

He was utilized a little bit in the Red Birds passing game, catching 37 passes for 344 yards in his final two seasons. The Chicago Bears made a mistake letting Kerrith Whyte Jr. go last year, as he could have been tabbed as a serviceable third running back on the roster.

However, it’s time to right that wrong by taking arguably the best running back in the FCS in Robinson.