Chicago Bears: 5 deepest position groups for 2021
By Joseph Herff
Ryan Pace made plenty of moves this offseason in order to strengthen the Chicago Bears roster. After 2020, Pace saw the major issues on the Bears’ roster and addressed them accordingly both in free agency and in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Bears did lose some key players in Kyle Fuller and Roy Roberston-Harris on defense, but they took cheap downgrades at both positions. They could additionally be waiting for camp cuts to go through so they can take a player that could be a surprise cut from another team. Regardless, both position groups took a major hit with the loss of these two players.
The Bears additionally let go of some players that were hurting the team like Bobby Massie and Charles Leno. After all of the offseason losses and additions, which position groups are the strongest now?
Chicago Bears Position Groups: No. 1 – Running Back
Talk about a loaded position group. The Bears retained David Montgomery who is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign. Montgomery only ran for 1,070 yards, but he was top five in the NFL in both yards after contact per carry and broken tackles rate. He finished the year with over 1,500 yards in both rushing and receiving and 10 total touchdowns. Montgomery posted those stats in 15 games.
Coming back is Tarik Cohen as he tore his ACL early in the season allowing Montgomery to take on a true workhorse role. Cohen is a high-end receiving running back who provides a great spark to the offense with his explosion and shiftiness. Having Cohen back will add more fun to the Bears’ offense that lacked explosion last season.
The Bears then replaced Cordarrelle Patterson with an upgrade in Damien Williams. Yes, Patterson is an elite kick returner, but Williams is a much better running back. Williams is a great backup to have on the roster as he has a Super Bowl in a similar scheme in Kansas City. He deserved MVP in that game as well as he accounted for two touchdowns and 133 total yards.
After those three, the Bears then have rookie Khalil Herbert who provides explosion as well and can compete for kick returner, Artavis Pierce who showed promise in his limited carries in the 2020 season as an undrafted free agent, and Ryan Nall who has been with the team for years as a special teamer and a do-it-all running back. They should feel very happy with this room.