Speculating what the Chicago Bears trading for N’Keal Harry really means

Trading for N’Keal Harry likely means the Chicago Bears will be a run-heavy team

When we look at the addition of Luke Getsy as the offensive coordinator, everyone has been speculating what type of offense the Chicago Bears will run in 2022. There has already been some indication that they will use an outside zone running scheme as their base running scheme. This should be similar to what the San Francisco 49ers run under Kyle Shanahan as Getsy is somewhat of a disciple of his after working under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay.

Adding N’Keal Harry just validates that speculation even more. Byron Pringle is already known for his blocking ability and Harry is too. I am not one to promote Pro Football Focus (PFF) often, but they had both receivers as the top and second-best run-blocking wide receivers in the NFL last season. That was as of November last year, but Harry still finished second and Pringle came in at number eight.

If we look at the Packers’ offense last year, the team threw the ball 593 times and ran it 446 times. This is a 57/43 percent split. If we look at what the 49ers did last season, they threw the ball 514 times and ran it 499 times. This is a 51/49 percent split. I’m not sure that the Chicago Bears will hit that balanced mark of 51% passing and 49% rushing. However, I do think they fall somewhere in between the Packers and 49ers splits from 2021.

The offensive line construction, Luke Getsy’s oversight, adding wide receivers who can block, and not even considering bringing back Allen Robinson who refuses to are all signs of what is to come. This team is going to lean heavily on David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert in 2022.