Among running backs in Chicago Bears franchise history, there are legends all the way down to massive draft busts. Those who had the unfortunate timing of succeeding a legend (Neal Anderson) are and will remain underrated.
Matt Forte didn't follow Walter Payton, but he didn't come out of a college football hotbed (Tulane) when the Bears took him in the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. He wasted no time making an impact though, finishing seventh in the league in rushing (1,238 yards) and third in yards from scrimmage (1,715) as a rookie.
Bears fans surely remember what Forte did over his eight seasons in Chicago. He topped 1,000 yards on the ground five times, with at least 1,400 yards from scrimmage in each of his first seven seasons. In 2013 he topped 1,900 total yards (1,933; third-most in the league), and in 2014 he topped 100 receptions (102; fourth-most in the league).
Forte spent the final two seasons of his career, 2016 and 2017, with the New York Jets. So he likely faded from memory on a national scale before his career was even done, and his peak with the Bears was easily overshadowed by what other running backs around the league were doing. A lack of team success (one playoff appearance) also isn't helpful to Forte's legacy on a wider scale.
Matt Forte gets some proper acknowledgement from NFL.com
NFL.com analyst Eric Edholm is going position-by-position to identify the five best draft values of this millennium. Which is to say, the best players who were taken after the first round since 2000.
At running back, Forte came in at No. 5 on Edholm's list.
"Forte was named to just two Pro Bowls in his decade-long career, but he was a model of consistency after the Bears plucked him mid-second round. The versatile back was a steady producer, averaging 106 yards from scrimmage per game in his 120 starts with Chicago, equally adept as a runner and a receiver."
"Forte ran for 1,238 yards as a rookie, the first of five 1,000-yard seasons, and logged six seasons with 51 or more receptions. He might have been overshadowed a bit in the Adrian Peterson-Marshawn Lynch era, and he only made the playoffs once (with Chicago in 2010) out of his eight seasons with the Bears and two with the Jets. But Forte's durability (he missed just eight games in his first eight seasons) and steadiness make him one of his generation's best all-around backs."
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In the category of "I'll bet you didn't know that", Forte's average of 106 yards from scrimmage per game as a Bear, had it sustained over his entire career, would be in the top-15 all-time. He will remain underappreciated on a national scale when we think of the best running backs of his era, but a little slice of new acknowledgement is pretty nice.