It is now the heart of the dead period for NFL football between May and June where there are no activities or even training camp. Nothing to keep the ravenous masses occupied. Typically it’s the time when articles about the game tend to venture into the ridiculous. This one will be no different. So why not explain how Jordan Howard becoming a successful fifth round pick is a sign that Chicago Bears playoff success is right around the corner.
Maybe not this season but very soon. Why should people have any reason to think that? Simple. In a strange Ripley’s Believe or Not sort of way, Bears team success is usually signaled right beforehand by a successful drafting of a fifth round pick. Yes, that sounds oddly specific but it’s true. The origins of this weird phenomena can be traced back to 1940.
Chicago Bears playoff success signaled during 1940 draft
The draft was still in infancy that year, having begun a few years back in 1936. Up to that point the Bears had yet to field a truly successful fifth round pick. That changed during a groundbreaking 1940 draft when they added a talented young tackle from Temple named Ed Kolman. With his help the Bears won their first championship in seven years that same season, going on to win three more during the subsequent decade.
It doesn’t stop there though. The trend continued onward from there. The 1956 and 1963 NFL championship teams were aided by not one, not two but three Pro Bowler selected in the fifth round over the previous seasons.
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Fred Williams (DT, 5th round, 1952)
Stan Jones (OG, 5th round, 1953)
Willie Galimore (HB, 5th round, 1956)
Weirded out yet? No? Okay. Then there’s the story of Allan Ellis. Back in the early 1970s the Bears were in the midst of their worst drought in franchise history. Between 1964 and 1972 they’d missed the playoffs every year. Then in 1973 they added an undersized corner named Allan Ellis out of UCLA. Four years later they made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Ellis? That was the lone season he ever made the Pro Bowl.
From there it moved on to cornerback and kick return specialist Jerry Azumah, arriving in 1999 and helping the Bears to the playoffs two years later. Ending a drought of six years. Then it was Johnny Knox, a speedy receiver out of Abilene Christian. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie return man in 2009. A year later the Bears were in the NFC championship.
They say truth is stranger than fiction and this is a perfect example. Typically fifth round picks are viewed with a degree of boredom from fans. Largely due to their substantial miss rate as late round picks go. Remember the Bears have made 76 picks in that round throughout their history. Just 14 of them managed to reach the Pro Bowl and a few of those didn’t occur until they went to other teams. So when it happens in Chicago, it’s special.
If this is to be trust, it’s also a sign of things to come.
