Rookie SWOT : Jordan Howard

Bruce Matson Posted On May 21, 2016

Editor’s Note: As our coverage of the 2016 NFL Draft and its impact on fantasy football continues, we bring you our 2016 Rookie SWOT series. These articles will feature video highlights, combine reviews, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, short-term expectations, long-term expectations and rookie draft advice for over 30 of the best dynasty league prospects from this year’s draft. We’ll follow that up with team-by-team draft reviews because, you know, that’s kind of what we live for.

Make sure you’re ready for your dynasty league rookie draft by staying up on all these articles, checking out our rookie draft guide, rookie rankings, rookie draft cheat sheet and mock draft rooms. There are simply no better resources out there for dynasty fantasy football enthusiasts.

Name: Jordan Howard

Position: Running Back

Pro Team: Chicago Bears

College Team: Indiana Hoosiers

Draft Status: Round Five, Pick No. 150 overall

Video Highlights

Combine Review

Height: 6’0’’

Weight: 230 Pounds

Hands: 9”

Arm Length: 32 ¼’’

Bench Press (225 LBS): 16 Reps

40-Yard-Dash: DNP

3-Cone-Drill: DNP

20-Yard-Shuttle: DNP

Vertical Jump: 34 Inches

Broad Jump: 122 Inches

Pro Day Review

40-Yard-Dash: 4.59

Short Shuttle: 4.34

3-Cone: 7.14

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Strengths

Howard has the prototypical size for a three-down back with enough bulk to take on extra punishment for short yardage and goal line situations. He does an excellent job at keeping his pad level low and exploding through the tackler at the point of contact. Gritty, tough and physical are all traits that can be used to describe his running style. He runs with a take-no-prisoners type of attitude, he’s not afraid to use his body as human battering ram while trying to pick up extra yardage.

Patience is a virtue for running backs, and Howard does a good job at letting the play develop and giving his offensive line plenty of time to execute their blocks. He’s a very decisive runner who uses excellent vision to find tight creases to run through around the line of scrimmage. He has a nasty jump-cut that he uses to trip up defenders in the open field.

By being very productive for two different collegiate programs, Alabama-Birmingham and Indiana, Howard proved he could transition from one offensive system to another. He has the ability to take over a game, he had 100 yards or more rushing in six games last season with two of them surpassing the 200-yard barrier.

Weaknesses

Being a hard-nosed runner is a gift and a curse because aggressively battling for extra yardage can increase the chance for injuries, and Howard has had his fair share of them. Knee and ankle injures caused him to miss four games last season. He already has an extensive injury history which will likely continue unless he changes his running style.

Howard isn’t a home run threat, he doesn’t have the speed to torch defenses for long touchdown runs. He often gets caught from behind by defensive linemen in the second level of the defense. Defenders are a lot faster in the NFL and how he adjusts to the speed of the game will determine whether he can be a productive fantasy asset.

With a limited route tree and 24 career total receptions, Howard is more than likely not going to be a receiving threat out of the backfield. He’s good enough to catch screens and dump offs but that’s about it when it comes to the passing game.

Opportunities

Howard fell to one of the best depth charts he could possibly go to which is going to allow him to compete for touches early in his career. The short yardage and goal line opportunities are going to be served to him on a silver platter since he’s the only running back on the roster who is over 210 pounds. Like stated previously, he’s a big bruising back who earns his money grinding out yards between the tackles and the Bears do not have a back with that skill-set currently on the roster.

Inefficiencies from the incumbent running backs are going to play into Howard’s favor. Jeremy Langford, Ka’Deem Carey and Jacquizz Rodgers all averaged 3.6 yards per carry as a unit last season, placing them well below league average for running backs. If this continues, Howard is going to get a crack at the lead running back position earlier than expected.

Threats

Langford is currently etched in the lineup as the starting running back and if he starts the season hot Howard might see limited opportunities on the field. When given the opportunity to play, Langford was able to produce, rushing for 537 yard and six touchdowns. He is a receiving threat out of the backfield which is something Howard is not and that could come into play when it comes to the distribution of snaps between the two running backs.

Head coach John Fox keeps the leash tight on rookies, not allowing them to get much playing time until he feels they are established enough to make their debut. The Bears don’t have any established veterans on the roster to clog the top of the depth chart, so things might be a little different with Howard’s on-boarding process.

The 2017 draft class is stacked with running back talent and all it takes is for the Bears to fall in love with one prospect to put a wrench in things. No matter what he does this season, if the Bears draft a running back within the top-100 during next year’s draft then Howard’s value will plummet.

Short-Term Expectations

Howard should be competing for snaps during the first couple seasons of his career. It shouldn’t take him long to carve out a role as the short-yardage back in the offense, since he’s the only back on the roster that fits that mold. Since he’s not going to experience heavy usage in the passing game, he’s going to be very touchdown dependent during the first couple years of his career unless he can earn his way to becoming the team’s feature back.

Long-Term Expectations

His long-term value is going to dependent on whether or not he can capture the starting running back role. He has to carve out his niche as the feature back in the offense for him to be successful, because he’s not talented enough as a receiver to be valuable on passing downs. He’s talented enough to make a major impact for the offense if he can make it to the top of the depth chart. Odds are highly likely that he will end up as a volatile RB2 in fantasy during the majority of his career due to his lack of use in the passing game.

NFL Comparison

His bruising running style is drawing comps to Chris Ivory and Arian Foster. Like both running backs, Howard is very good at running in between the tackles and fighting for extra yardage. Both running backs are not home run threats but they rely on their physicality and vision to get the job done. Howard was very productive in college and there’s a chance that it could translate to the NFL providing Foster-like production.

Projected Range for Rookie Drafts

According to DLF’s 2016 Rookie ADP, Howard is being selected at 19.30 making him a mid-second round pick in rookie drafts. In most of my rookie drafts Howard is being drafted anywhere between the early to mid second round. His average draft position is dead on to how he should be valued because he shouldn’t go ahead of any of the top wide receivers and there’s four other running backs that should be selected ahead of him due to having a higher draft pedigree or being drafted into a more promising situation.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.