The Chicago Bears drafting Trestan Ebner was an interesting decision. The Bears have David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert and added Darrynton Evans this offseason, so running back was not the biggest need. Still, they must have had Ebner as their top-rated player.
In some areas this makes sense. His pass-catching prowess is a great compliment to Montgomery, and he is arguably as much of a gadget receiver as a running back. Beyond that, he is a return man with 4.4 type speed.
Still, the Bears drafted a return option in Velus Jones, and beyond his speed, Ebner has an overall average athletic profile.
Looking at his athletic profile and draft capital we can find a common list of players with similar traits. Below are running backs from 5’9” to 5’11”, 205 pounds to 211, ran a 4.4 to 4.5, and had a vertical under 35.
It brings up a specific group of players.
| Rk | Year | Player | Pos | Age | AV ▼ | School | Height | Wt | 40YD | Vertical | BenchReps | Broad Jump | 3Cone | Shuttle | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | Wendell Smallwood | RB | 22 | 10 | West Virginia | College Stats | 5-10 | 208 | 4.47 | 33.5 | 14 | 120 | 6.83 | 4.28 | Philadelphia Eagles / 5th / 153rd pick / 2016 |
| 2 | 2013 | Johnathan Franklin | RB | 23 | 1 | UCLA | College Stats | 5-10 | 205 | 4.49 | 31.5 | 18 | 115 | 6.89 | 4.31 | Green Bay Packers / 4th / 125th pick / 2013 |
| 3 | 2012 | Cyrus Gray | RB | 22 | 1 | Texas A&M | College Stats | 5-10 | 206 | 4.40 | 32.5 | 21 | 114 | 7.17 | Kansas City Chiefs / 6th / 182nd pick / 2012 | |
| 4 | 2011 | Da’Rel Scott | RB | 22 | 1 | Maryland | College Stats | 5-11 | 211 | 4.40 | 34.0 | 19 | 117 | 7.15 | 4.20 | New York Giants / 7th / 221st pick / 2011 |
| 5 | 2017 | Matthew Dayes | RB | 22 | 0 | North Carolina State | College Stats | 5-9 | 205 | 4.47 | 28.0 | 18 | 109 | Cleveland Browns / 7th / 252nd pick / 2017 | ||
| 6 | 2019 | Jordan Scarlett | RB | 23 | 0 | Florida | College Stats | 5-11 | 208 | 4.47 | 30.0 | 21 | 116 | 7.37 | 4.63 | Carolina Panthers / 5th / 154th pick / 2019 |
| 7 | 2011 | Johnny White | RB | 23 | 0 | North Carolina | College Stats | 5-10 | 209 | 4.50 | 32.5 | 117 | 7.07 | 4.31 | Buffalo Bills / 5th / 133rd pick / 2011 | |
| 8 | 2019 | Mike Weber | RB | 21 | Ohio State | College Stats | 5-10 | 211 | 4.47 | 33.5 | 22 | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 218th pick / 2019 |
Wendell Smallwood is essentially a best-case outcome. When it comes to his pass-catching, his return game, but his inability in between the tackles you could understand this. This is not the upside some fans want to see, but it makes considering his skill set and draft capital.
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Still, one thing that was not considered was the agility drills. Ebner is a straight-line runner which helps on return options, but his not as elusive and does not have the same breaks in and out of cuts. That shows poor agility drills that are much worse than Smallwood.
This brings up the most realistic NFL comparison for Trestan Ebner, which is Jordan Scarlett.
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Scarlett was a pass-catching back at Florida, and while he has the straight-line speed was not elusive enough to show it in the NFL. Scarlett is still in the NFL but has bounced around to a few different practice squads.
Considering Ebner is a gadget player without a defined role, and average athleticism that fell into round six it is probably fair to tie these types of expectations towards him in hopes that he can prove us wrong.