Fourteen rookies were recently selected by NFL.com’s Gil Brandt to be “instant-impact” players in the league and one of the Bears’ draft picks made the list. It’s obviously not Mitchell Trubisky considering he’s expected to sit for his first season and learn behind Mike Glennon. That would leave most to believe it’s the new tight end nicknamed “Baby Gronk” Ryan Pace chose to take in the second round, Adam Shaheen, that guess would be wrong.
Brandt selected Chicago’s fourth-round pick, 119th overall, Tarik Cohen. Cohen is a dynamic playmaker out of North Carolina A&T that seemed to fly under the radar for most casual fans that researched the draft. However, NFL GMs around the league have taken note of Cohen’s abilities. At only 5’6″, 179lbs., his draft profile compares him directly to Darren Sproles, a player Pace is very familiar with from his time in New Orleans.
Here’s what Brandt had to say about Cohen:
“Cohen should provide some additional burst out of the backfield for the Bears, especially as a receiver, where 2016 breakout back Jordan Howard doesn’t offer much. Cohen also should add juice to a return game that still hasn’t really replaced Devin Hester.”
Not only is Cohen expected to provide a change of Pace for current starter Jordan Howard, he’ll likely work his way into the return game bringing blazing fast speed and lightning quick feet and Chicago hasn’t seen that since #23…. in the orange and navy. Hester’s play-making ability for the Bears made him an instant fan favorite, Cohen is expected to leave a similar mark.
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Cohen finished fourth in rushing for the NCAA tallying up over 1,500 yards in 2016, he also ran a 4.42 40 yard dash at the NFL combine. Pace was said to be looking for a dynamic player, with speed to add to the backfield, that’s why whispers indicated Christian McCaffrey was high on Chicago’s board if Trubisky was gone and they moved down in the first round.
Nevertheless, Cohen will add skills that compliment Howard nicely. Nicknamed “the human joystick,” Cohen will enter the game and provide an immediate burst of speed after Howard does the dirty work in-between the tackles. This will give the Bears more flexibility in their running game and more team speed overall.
Many Bears fans mentioned Garrett Wolfe as a comparison when Cohen was selected, but it appears NFL analysts are a bit higher on him and liken him to Sproles.
As Chicago rebuilds their passing attack and figures out their receiving core, they’re expected to have a nice set of running backs to move the chains for the offense. Adding Cohen to the return game is simply icing on the cake.
If Cohen has early success running the ball, it could set the Bears up nicely to trade Jeremy Langford / Ka’deem Carey as well.
Another seemingly nice pick by Pace that the casual fan had no clue about.
In Pace we trust.
