Jordan Howard was an RB1 in fantasy last year, and he is one of the top-drafted backs in fantasy drafts this year. He ranked eighth among running backs with 100 or more carries last season in Rushing NEP per attempt, and he was by all means the focal point of the Chicago Bears' offense.
His biggest weakness as a running back was his ineffectiveness as a pass-catcher. In the same batch of 42 running backs, his catch rate of 58 percent ranked 41st. His Reception NEP per target of 0.49 (eighth-highest in the sample) indicates that when he caught the ball he was effective, but he just wasn't catching the ball often enough when targeted.
The Bears targeted Howard in the passing game because they didn't have another option. They may have some other options this season.
In addition to signing Benny Cunningham, the Bears drafted Tarik Cohen, who excelled last week against the Arizona Cardinals' starters.
Chris Mortensen said that Tarik Cohen will touch the ball 8-12 times per game this year for the #Bears. Looked good vs ARI pic.twitter.com/rTLKmuvGWi
— Adam Pfeifer (@APfeifer24) August 22, 2017
Cohen caught 98 passes in college, and he could work with Cunningham to steal some passing-game work away from Howard. The Bears should be in for a lot of negative game scripts with their over/under of five wins, which could lead to more opportunity for the pass-catching backs at Howard's expense.