Chicago Bears returner and running back
With the 217th overall pick, the Chicago Bears select Khalil Herbert. The BGO community knows that I am the outcast when it comes to Damien Williams. I understand that Williams has an outstanding playoff performance record and that the Chicago Bears needed to add someone to the running back room.
Williams still might make the team, and maybe he can show off in the playoffs. However, I need players to play hard to get the team to the playoffs. I need more; yes, I am greedy. I expected Herbert to be drafted somewhere around round four. Why he was still available is beyond me. With Herbert, the Chicago Bears are gaining a spark plug.
Herbert is a lesser version of the combination of the two running backs featured on the Chicago Bears roster. Quick twitched like Tarik Cohen, but not as explosive yet has vision and contact balance like David Montgomery but lacks the catching ability. Herbert is a perfect combination. The Chicago Bear’s could have a three-headed monster attack without using all three.
Herbert is also a return specialist, so I could see him on the roster along with a player we will talk about next. Williams and Artavis Pierce are fine in their ways, but like Riley Ridley, they only play one part of football. Williams used to be a kick returner with the dolphins, which got him more playing time, but I don’t believe that he will do better in Chicago.
Tarik Cohen getting hurt was a more significant blow than most want to give it credit two, and hopefully, he still has the juice he had before his injury. It is time to take away punt return duties for Cohen and keep him fresh as the #2 running back on the roster.
The Chicago Bears need to ask themselves, do we keep putting Cohen out there to gain us 375 yards in punt return yards and risk injury or keep him fresh to gain 400 yards rushing and 600 yards receiving a season as he has once done? To me, it is a no-brainer. Cohen is a dang good punt returner, but his value and contract scream keep him on offense for the foreseeable future. Insert Khalil Herbert or Dazz Newsome in those other roles.