The Chicago Bears drafted Virginia Tech running back Khalil Herbert
The Chicago Bears continued to bring in more offense as they drafted Khalil Herbert, RB out of Virginia Tech. Herbert is a running back who excels at making strategic cuts to gain extra yards. He is not the fastest of guys as he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash. He is a shorter running back at 5’9″ but thick as he weighs in at over 200 pounds. He is not anything like fellow, shorter running back Tarik Cohen.
Herbert is not a pass-catching threat either. During his years at both Kansas and Virginia Tech, the most balls he caught in a season was 10. While at Kansas, he saw solid touches in 2017 and 2018, but never gained more than 700 yards. He had a breakout season in 2020 after transferring to Virginia Tech. Khalil Herbert gained 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns on 155 touches. This was the same year he caught 10 balls. He was most efficient with these catches too with 179 yards.
When you look at the depth chart on this team, I think Khalil Herbert will find himself as either the RB3 or RB4 on this roster as he fights it out with Damien Williams. This means Ryan Nall is likely to see his days numbered on the roster. Maybe he and Artavis Pierce battle it out for the practice squad. One or both are likely to see their days numbered with this team though.
The other key thing with Khalil Herbert is the fact he could become the team’s kick returner. Letting Cordarrelle Patterson walk did not go over well with most Chicago Bears fans, but with the cap and the way Patterson fit in the offense as a running back, he just was not a strong option to stick around. Khalil Herbert could be his replacement though as he had 16 kick returns for 430 yards while at Virginia Tech. On the surface, this looks to be a very solid draft pick again.