Fantasy Football: 10 Sleeper Running Backs to Target in 2017
Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears
There are approximately 5,320,610 similar tweets comparing Tarik Cohen to Darren Sproles. Approximately.
Thing is, 5,320,610 tweets can’t be wrong. Here are their respective NFL Draft Combine measurables.
| Player | Height | Weight | Arms | Hands | 40-Yard Dash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Sproles | 5'6" | 187 | 28 1/4" | 8 1/4" | 4.49 |
| Tarik Cohen | 5'6" | 179 | 29 3/4" | 10 1/8" | 4.42 |
They’re both short, they’re both quick, they’re both annoying as hell to tackle, and they’re both poised to be late-round fantasy manna.
Admittedly, if you watched the North Carolina A&T product during the Chicago Bears' 19-7 preseason victory over Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, you'd be all like, “Dude? Darren Sproles? Dude? Dude.” And, considering he gained a paltry five yards, you’d be right. However, it wasn't due to anything Cohen did or didn’t do, but rather what the Chicago coaching staff did or didn’t do with him.
In the Bears' first two preseason games, Cohen was a miniature beast, racking up 116 yards on 18 rushes, good for 6.4 yards-per-carry. And, as noted, he was annoying as hell to tackle.
WORK!! 🔥 RT @kg_holler: Tarik Cohen 1st half highlights. pic.twitter.com/0lP7iMgpAx
— Faithful and Bearded (@Haskin_Robbins) August 22, 2017
Then, on Sunday, he had just one carry.
Anyhoo, we all know Jordan Howard is The Man in Chicago -- some pundits feel the sophomore has a chance to win the NFL rushing title -- but Cohen is expected to see the second-most carries on the team. Considering the top two quarterbacks on Chicago's depth chart -- Mike Glennon and Mitchell Trubisky -- have a combined total of 18 NFL starts to their name (Glennon: 18, Trubisky: 0), there could be plenty of carries to go around if the Bears elect to play things safe.
And if he’s anything like Sproles, Cohen might well do something with ’em. In the 13th-round of standard drafts, he's late-round fantasy manna. —Alan Goldsher
