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The Bears could go a few different ways with their first-round selection (No. 10 overall), including running back.
Chicago will be hopeful that Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty will still be available when they’re on the clock. North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton would even be a nice consolation prize if Jeanty is gone.
However, NFL Media’s Maurice Jones-Drew sees the Bears addressing the position in a surprising fashion, selecting Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson.
“I know it would be a surprise to a lot of folks if Henderson is picked in the top 10, but he’s my No. 2 RB in the draft and we saw how much success Detroit had with two running backs at the center of Ben Johnson’s offense. Now the new Bears head coach adds a versatile and explosive back to pair with D’Andre Swift, giving Chicago a one-two punch in the backfield. Plus, Henderson excels in pass protection, making him an option on all three downs,” Jones-Drew wrote.
In this scenario, Hampton was still on the board. He ended up going ten picks later to the Broncos. But like Jones-Drew alluded, Henderson is his No. 2 running back in this draft class.
New head coach Ben Johnson comes from a Lions team that had great success with two running backs, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. By selecting Henderson, he would complement D’Andre Swift, hoping to take some weight off quarterback Caleb Williams’ shoulders.
Henderson is an explosive runner with great speed and elusiveness in the open field who can take the football to the end zone anytime he gets it. He also has good pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
A lot of Bears fans would be scratching their heads with this selection, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Johnson, the offensive guru, had a lot of success with someone like Henderson in his system.
