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Tarik Cohen - RB - CHI (1 Viewer)

JFS171

Footballguy
Surprised there's not a thread for this guy.  I know there's some mention of him in the deep dynasty thread, and maybe there's such low expectations due to Jordan Howard's presence ... but Cohen looked like he belonged last night.  It seems cliche to compare every 5'6" RB to Darren Sproles, but Cohen seriously looked the part last night in his first NFL action, with the first team offense, no less.

Discuss.

 
Surprised there's not a thread for this guy.  I know there's some mention of him in the deep dynasty thread, and maybe there's such low expectations due to Jordan Howard's presence ... but Cohen looked like he belonged last night.  It seems cliche to compare every 5'6" RB to Darren Sproles, but Cohen seriously looked the part last night in his first NFL action, with the first team offense, no less.

Discuss.
He's going to have to be the main back up to Howard and the third down back in order to be relevant for fantasy redraft leagues.  I really love him for the Bears but I'm not sure what he offers to a regular fantasy team yet.

 
He's going to have to be the main back up to Howard and the third down back in order to be relevant for fantasy redraft leagues.  I really love him for the Bears but I'm not sure what he offers to a regular fantasy team yet.
Well who's standing in his way for that gig?  Langford?  Carey?  Not exactly a mountain to climb.

 
Well who's standing in his way for that gig?  Langford?  Carey?  Not exactly a mountain to climb.
Carey and Cunningham.  Carey has actually looked pretty good every time he's gotten a chance to play including last night.  I think the coaches like him.  Cunningham also looked pretty good last night.  If Langford doesn't participate in practices soon he'll be cut I think.

Who was the last back up RB to be relevant for the Bears?  Howard doesn't count last year.

 
Surprised there's not a thread for this guy.  I know there's some mention of him in the deep dynasty thread, and maybe there's such low expectations due to Jordan Howard's presence ... but Cohen looked like he belonged last night.  It seems cliche to compare every 5'6" RB to Darren Sproles, but Cohen seriously looked the part last night in his first NFL action, with the first team offense, no less.

Discuss.
Agreed with all that you said.

I also checked out my leagues last night and in every league I'm in the only person that ever drafted him was me, this includes dynasty leagues with 7 round rookie drafts and 28 round redrafts.

His highlight tape was one of the funnest I've ever seen, which is why I was drafting him in first place despite his size, just amazing video on him.I know this will sound kind of lame but I sometimes like to scout players with the video running in slo-mo. I did this with Cohen and literally laughed out load a few times. It got to a point where I'd be watching him in slo-mo, where by all accounts it looked like he was done for the play, and after awhile I quit thinking in terms of if he could find an escape but in terms of "how was he going to escape".

I think in terms of real life the contrasting styles of him and Howard is very ideal.

For fantasy you mentioned Sproles and it's true, it seems like a cliche and we've had what seems like a hundred Sproles comp RB's that never pan out. I think he's finally the one. But the downer is that even Sproles was not really usable in SD and put another way was really only someone I put any value on when he played for a wide open passing attack on a team that plays on artifical surface and loves throwing to their RB's. If Cohen was drafted by the Saints I'd have been picking him as high as late first round/high second round of rookie drafts, for real. But that's not how it went down so I'm still unsure if he's going to be a fantasy asset or just a really nice COP back who offers a really nice gear change from Howard and is more useful to the Bears then to anyone's fantasy team.

 
Carey and Cunningham.  Carey has actually looked pretty good every time he's gotten a chance to play including last night.  I think the coaches like him.  Cunningham also looked pretty good last night.  If Langford doesn't participate in practices soon he'll be cut I think.

Who was the last back up RB to be relevant for the Bears?  Howard doesn't count last year.
Langford is ailing and was out last night but their usage last night should tell you where Cohen stands in relation to Carey and Cunningham.

 
I just don't see Cohen getting enough touches to make him fantasy relevant all that much this year.  Certainly worth keeping an eye on him.  If the Bears can keep improving and actually get a passing attack going then I'd have more faith in him.  If anyone hasn't noticed yet, Pace id trying to turn the Bears into the new Saints.  Here are his draft picks and their comparables:

Trubisky = Brees

Cohen = Sproles

Shaheen = Graham

 
I just don't see Cohen getting enough touches to make him fantasy relevant all that much this year.  Certainly worth keeping an eye on him.  If the Bears can keep improving and actually get a passing attack going then I'd have more faith in him.  If anyone hasn't noticed yet, Pace id trying to turn the Bears into the new Saints.  Here are his draft picks and their comparables:

Trubisky = Brees

Cohen = Sproles

Shaheen = Graham
Good point on Pace patterning team on Saints and Cohen getting enough touches is a concern.  We did not see it last night but what he offers in passing game is the key. I know Fox has said he is a mismatch and a weapon  but that does not always mean enough usage for fantasy.

But a positive note on the touches, and this is also a reason I'm really high on Kamara even with Peterson and Ingram  and brings me back to Sproles.   In Sproles 3 seasons with the Saints he averaged 9.5 total touches a game(not counting special teams) and averaged over 15 PPG which is usually top 10 PPR RB numbers. But that of course is the Saints. My hope with Cohen is something more like a rich mans Chris Thompson who put up just over 9 fantasy points a game on 7.3 total touches. I think Cohen is better and if he can improve on those numbers 10-20% we are talking about a rock solid PPR RB3, or at least a weak one. Considering he's basically free right now I think that deserves a look.

 
Love the kid, as I've mentioned in those threads you reference. But I'll have to agree that he's probably better for the bears than fantasy. Could be useful in deep leagues, as you said the sproles comp is overdone but still relevant. I think he could be more Tyreek Hill if they choose to use him that way.

 
JFS171 said:
Well who's standing in his way for that gig?  Langford?  Carey?  Not exactly a mountain to climb.
Cohen is going to be the backup. Langford is as good as gone. Carey looked good last night but is more a special teams guy at this point.  But as Hawkeye said, a Bears backup RB doesn't have much to offer fantasy wise. The kids sure looks exciting, though. 

 
He's athletic as heck, but he's really small for a NFL back.  5'6 and 179??  Ouchie...
He may be small but he seems to be pretty tough.  He had that one run to the left where he bounced it outside and then took a hit that he spun off of which led to another yard or two.  He seems to play bigger than his size.  Plenty of small RBs have done very well for their size.  Remember how good of a pass blocker Warrick Dunn was?

 
Totally athletic, but when I saw 179, not sure he can handle the punishment. 
Warrick Dunn was only like 9 pounds heavier.  I think Wes Welker was a little lighter yet and he took hits across the middle of the field constantly.  Sticking with the Sproles comparison he is only about 10 pounds heavier.

 
Cohen looked explosive in his last pre-season game. Considering that he was a fairly high pick (4th rnd) I’m starting to have some concerns that he may cut into Jordan Howard’s touches...If Cohen makes a legit contribution, Howard no longer deserves his current ADP.

 
Not sure he's draftable in most redrafts. Last few rounds flyer in best ball, sure. Fun to watch. His balance is sick. WW high priority if Howard goes down.

 
Cohen looked explosive in his last pre-season game. Considering that he was a fairly high pick (4th rnd) I’m starting to have some concerns that he may cut into Jordan Howard’s touches...If Cohen makes a legit contribution, Howard no longer deserves his current ADP.
You are absolutely right. He was also explosive in preseason week 1.  The Bears coaching staff is going to have to get him at least 8-10 touches a game.

 
Warrick Dunn was only like 9 pounds heavier.  I think Wes Welker was a little lighter yet and he took hits across the middle of the field constantly.  Sticking with the Sproles comparison he is only about 10 pounds heavier.
10 pounds is fairly significant on a 5'6" frame.

 
It only took a decade or so, but he literally looks like the next Sproles.  The question is whether Chicago can figure out how to use him as effectively as Sean Payton used Sproles, or if he's more like the Sproles we saw in San Diego.

He's absolutely in the right backfield though.  Jordan Howard, I believe, led all RBs in dropped passes with 8 or something close to that.  They were splitting Cohen out in the slot and having him run routes.

 
No reason to not give this guy 4-5 touches a game, as a Bears fan I'm actually quite impressed with him so far and I want to see him on the field. As a guy who has done several FF drafts already with a small share of Jordan Howard, I'm a little concerned. 

 
He's fun to watch but he's not taking touches from Howard. Carey and the other guy should worry about their touches but not Howard.  Howard is near the top of the list of candidates most likely to receive 320 touches.

 
Chaka said:
He's fun to watch but he's not taking touches from Howard. Carey and the other guy should worry about their touches but not Howard.  Howard is near the top of the list of candidates most likely to receive 320 touches.
Except and unless the Bears find themselves trailing early and often ... and Cohen truly becomes their Sproles.  If Cohen is the 2-min drill guy, the comeback guy, the passing game guy ... that could be a major problem for Howard on such a bad team with an awful defense.

 
Except and unless the Bears find themselves trailing early and often ... and Cohen truly becomes their Sproles.  If Cohen is the 2-min drill guy, the comeback guy, the passing game guy ... that could be a major problem for Howard on such a bad team with an awful defense.
I highly doubt it. Howard is good enough in the passing game and better as a runner, IMO he causes far more problems for defenses than Cohen.

 
I highly doubt it. Howard is good enough in the passing game and better as a runner, IMO he causes far more problems for defenses than Cohen.
Howard led all RBs in dropped passes in 2016.  The Bears noticed this.  They brought in Cunningham in FA and then traded up to draft Cohen in the 4th.

 
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Except and unless the Bears find themselves trailing early and often ... and Cohen truly becomes their Sproles.  If Cohen is the 2-min drill guy, the comeback guy, the passing game guy ... that could be a major problem for Howard on such a bad team with an awful defense.
What is Howard's role during that offense normally?  If it's not Cohen then it's probably another back as Howard is not going to be on the field every down.  Cohen should be cutting into Langford's, Cunningham's and Carey's role more than Howard's.

 
Howard led all RBs in dropped passes in 2016.
I know. That fact may have been my first post in this thread.

He still caught 29 in 13 games with a 10.3 YPC. He's good enough and creates more problems for defenses, he is too valuable to the offense to morph him into a two down back.

 
Cohen doesn't necessarily have to take snaps/targets away from Howard to have value on his own.  The Bears were splitting him out in the slot in the last game, and certainly motioning him out of the backfield.  He's a chess piece.  Having him on the field at the same time as Howard can create all sorts of confusion for the defense.

 
Howard led all RBs in dropped passes in 2016.  The Bears noticed this.  They brought in Cunningham in FA and then traded up to draft Cohen in the 4th.
They also had Howard get PRK eye surgery, which he says is helping his receiving skills. 

 
Has more natural ability than Howard...I'd be worried long term if I were a Howard investor.
He will cut some into Howard's carries/passing opportunities. Chicago didn't have any other competent RBs last year. But very light RBs like Cohen are situational weapons and not much of a threat at things like goal line work, closing out games. Cohen seems dynamic and will serve as a bigger threat in the passing game as a receiver but in pass protection he's at risk at being run over.

 
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Has more natural ability than Howard...I'd be worried long term if I were a Howard investor.
Please, stop.

Cohen is listed at 5'6", 179 lbs and typically teams report numbers higher, particularly with smaller players.  He's 7" and 46 lbs lighter than Howard's listed height/weight (Pro-Football-Reference).  Cohen isn't a threat to do more than become a Sproles light.  And not New Orleans Sproles either, more like San Diego Sproles.  Chicago isn't New Orleans, John Fox is cut from the same cloth as Marty Schottenheimer/Norv Turner than he is to Sean Payton. As long as Fox is at the helm* at worst Cohen will eat into Howard's production the same way Sproles ate into LaDanian Tomlinson's numbers in San Diego.

And when Fox is inevitably fired (after this season?) how many coaches with a legitimate triple threat back won't ride that back predominantly?  Payton, maybe Belichick...?  Seems far more likely Chicago will end up with a new HC who will keep Howard as the clear, primary back.

 
The problem with Howard is less than desirable athleticism, namely speed.  Cohen fills that speed gap nicely, I can see him being used as a gadget rb initially, and maybe working his way into a Sproles reggie bush role,  but he is not going to take Howards job.  Howard's talents are OL chemistry and football IQ, not overwhelming athleticism, but you cannot pound the rock with Cohen.

 
Cohen will open eyes in week one. If he gets 8-10 touches I would say that his role is serious. Look for that to expand from there if he continues to make plays.

 
rugcleaner said:
The problem with Howard is less than desirable athleticism, namely speed.  Cohen fills that speed gap nicely, I can see him being used as a gadget rb initially, and maybe working his way into a Sproles reggie bush role,  but he is not going to take Howards job.  Howard's talents are OL chemistry and football IQ, not overwhelming athleticism, but you cannot pound the rock with Cohen.
Chicago will also be in plenty of negative game scripts in 4th quarters and now that an RB that has receiving skills is present Howard could be pulled in those situations.  Chicago had no other option in those situations last year.

 

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