Todd McShay of ESPN is among the most respected NFL draft experts in the business. His yearly mock drafts always draw interesting attention for their depth and accuracy in terms of predicting directions teams might go. For the first time he finally did a mock involving the Chicago Bears, who don’t pick until the 3rd round at #87.
The question is what direction does he have them go? There are options to consider whether it’s more depth at cornerback or safety. Maybe another outside linebacker to help with the pass rush or an offensive guard to aid the roster behind the often-injured Kyle Long?
Nope. McShay stuck to the area that almost everybody assumes the Bears will focus, and that’s running back. The arrows certainly point that direction. Benny Cunningham is gone. Jordan Howard was traded. They need another body next to Tarik Cohen and Mike Davis.
So who does McShay have them grabbing. A surprise name many may not have considered.
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“Round 3 (87): Damien Harris, RB, Alabama
Chicago doesn’t pick for a while but has to be happy with Harris this late in the draft. He is explosive and pairs well with Tarik Cohen after Jordan Howard was shipped to Philadelphia.”
Todd McShay essentially gives the Bears a poor man’s Adrian Peterson
It’s curious why Alabama didn’t make Harris their primary bellcow. It’s clear the young man was fit for the job. He’s been the starter there since 2016. In that time he accumulated 2,913 yards on just 431 carries. That’s an average of 6.76 yards per rush. Pretty gaudy.
Watching Harris on tape, it’s clear he has a little of everything. He can catch passes well enough but his primary job is getting the hand-off and finding a hole. He’s not the biggest or the fastest but he has solid acceleration and doesn’t go down easily on contact. The best way to describe him?
Think of him as the starter kit version of Adrian Peterson. He doesn’t have the special freakish talent but he’s got enough portions of it to be an effective running back. His game typically centers around good vision, strength and an ability to jam it up the middle. Something the Bears were looking for last season.
He isn’t a special type of back, but he could be the missing piece of a solid committee the team is trying to build.
