 |
| David Montgomery established himself as one of the rising stars at RB in the NFL in 2020. He is a key part of the Bears' offense going forward. |
Running Backs
David Montgomery
In an offense that struggled mightily throughout the season, Montgomery was one of the lone bright spots as he piled up over 1500 yards from scrimmage despite running behind a subpar OL for most of the year. Monty specialized at making something out of nothing, finishing 9th in rush yards over expected (per NGS), and finishing runs with some impressive power (finished 3rd in broken tackles behind Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry and T-2nd in rushing attempts per broken tackle).
For a guy who "lacks burst", Montgomery sure showed a lot of burst in 2020. His short area quickness was impressive on film, and it opened the door to turning broken plays into positive gains or moderate gains into bigger plays. And when give the opportunity, he showed he could turn on the afterburners and go for 6. His development as a receiver was also a pleasant surprise. Grade A+
Tarik Cohen
Tarik Cohen's season was unfortunately cut short due to an ACL tear in week 3 against the Falcons. His performance to that point left some to be desired. Cohen is certainly a player that can be used as a Swiss army knife offensively and provide a good amount of value. However, he needs to be used properly, and I worry about that going forward with Matt Nagy Grade Incomplete
Cordarrelle Patterson
Patterson is another gadget-type player that can be used all over the offense. In 2020, he was used more as a RB, especially following the injury to Tarik Cohen. Many people were frustrated with Patterson's use at RB, and understandably so. Patterson got too many snaps instead of Montgomery for much of the year, and that can't happen. Despite some fans' frustrations with Patterson even being used as a RB at all, I'm actually quite ok with it. I did notice improvements in his vision as the season went on, and Patterson is a playmaker in space. Resigning him for special teams reasons and using him in the occasional package at RB seems like a good approach to 2021 for me. Grade C
Ryan Nall
Nall is a classic example of a Matt Nagy obsession. He simply doesn't have the necessarily tools for be a successful RB in the NFL, but Nagy let him be part of the backup rotation despite having an options like Lamar Miller and Artavis Pierce (more on him in a second) available. I don't want to see him back with the team next season. Grade D+
Artavis Pierce
Just as Ryan Nall is a classic example of a Matt Nagy obsession, Pierce is a classic example of a young player being blocked from showing what he can do (we'll get to Riley Ridley in a minute). From the little bit we saw of Pierce, he looked like he had some explosive traits in him. It's a shame we couldn't see what he could do in an expanded role. Hopefully he's with the team come August and we can maybe see him in some full preseason action. Grade Incomplete
Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson
Robinson continued to show why he is considered to be one of the better WRs in the NFL. He remained a reliable, steady target for the Bears turnstile at QB. Despite another strong season-long performance from A Rob, I must admit that I do want to see more out of him. His RAC ability leaves something to be desired and his ability to win contested catches faltered at times. He also disappeared in the last two games of the season when the Bears most needed victories (albeit not entirely on him).
I want to bring Robinson back on an extension, however, I'm hesitant to pay him true WR1 money as he hasn't quite shown that yet. He has all the tools to get there though, so paying up for that could pay dividends for an offense in need of playmakers. Grade B+
Darnell Mooney
What an absolute find Mooney was by Pace in the 2020 draft. Despite being limited by Nagy's nonsensical scheme, Mooney was able to put on a show with his route running abilities. The lack of big plays is not on him, as on too many occasions he created huge separation, but was missed by his QB. Mooney looks to be the real deal at WR, and hopefully the Bears offense can find a way to get more out of his abilities in 2021 Grade A-
Anthony Miller
It has been a true disappointment to watch the downfall of Anthony Miller. Following a promising rookie season, the last two have been marred with inconsistency and lost focus. I'm still a firm believer in his talent, but it's likely that he's going to need a fresh start. Getting tossed from the playoff game after mixing it up with CJ Gardner-Johnson was probably the final nail in the coffin. Grade C-
Javon Wims
Wims provided some intriguing depth during the 2019 season, postulating that he could be a contributor during the 2020 season. However, this never came to fruition as he failed to find his footing early in the season. The wheels came completely off in week 8 against the Saints when his lack of discipline got him ejected after he threw haymakers at CJ Gardner-Johnson. His poor season was capped with a critical drop on a wide open TD in the playoffs against the Saints. Grade D-
Riley Ridley
Yet another talented player being stonewalled by Nagy's stubbornness, Ridley continues to struggle to see the field (or even be activated). In the little bit we have been able to see of him in his two seasons, Ridley has impressed on the field. The only question is whether or not he'll get to prove it more consistently in 2021. Grade Incomplete
Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham
Brought in to help fix some of the Bears red zone woes and to be a mentor to the young and talented Cole Kmet, it's suffice to say that Graham's 2020 season was a successful one. Despite his lack of efficiency (a career low 9.1 YPC), he was still able to contribute 8 TDs. On top of that, his mentorship of Cole Kmet was evident.
The Graham signing was met with a lot of criticism in the 2020 off-season, but the move ended up achieving its goals. That's a nice positive. Grade B+
Cole Kmet
The pick of Kmet at 43rd overall was another move in the 2020 off-season that was met with a lot of criticism. That criticism was heightened as he failed to contribute early in the season, registering only 6 receptions for 79 yards and a TD in weeks 1-9. However, during that time period, he wasn't being used too often (failing to break a 50% snap share in any of those contests). Starting in week 10, Kmet started to dominate the share of snaps at the TE position (averaging >80% of the offensive snaps) to produce 22 receptions for 164 yards and another TD.
His lack of use up the seam was frustrating (yet another player being misused by Nagy), but his ability to add tough yards after the catch and his advanced abilities as an in-line blocker were definitely positive signs of things to come. Grade A-
Demetrius Harris
Harris was another veteran brought in to help stabilize a poor TE unit from 2019. He was supposed to be a solid Y TE who could contribute some in the passing game. However, he was unable to produce much on either end of the spectrum, and his playing time dropped to essentially zero by the end of the season. Grade C-
JP Holtz
Holtz showed a lot of promise as a lead blocker/FB type in 2019 and even a little bit as a contributor in the passing game. However, he seemed over-matched in that same role in 2020. He may return in 2021 in the same role, but I would hope the Bears would look elsewhere for improvement. Grade D
Up next: Offensive Line
Previous: Management and Coaching Staff, QBs
