All-NFC North Team: Bears Rate Only Fourth Best at Running Back

When Aaron Jones is tearing up the Bears defense while running behind the Minnesota Vikings offensive line or catching short passes out of the backfield and turning them into huge gains, Chicago fans should keep one thing in mind.

Their team could have easily signed Jones. He's only getting $7 million this year on a one-year deal and the Bears signed D'Andre Swift as starter for a deal averaging $8 million a year. Swift does count only $5.8 million against the salary cap this year, though.

They also could have brought in the player Green Bay designated as Jones' replacement, 2022 NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs.

His average cost in terms of salary cap figure for the next two seasons is just above the $8 million Swift averages these next two seasons, although Green Bay will still be counting $6.25 million against its cap for Jacobs should they discard him after his seventh NFL season during this modern age of disposable running backs.

Both of those two NFC North backs finished well above the Bears' Swift in a vote of four NFC North publishers for SI.com, and it was Jacobs who came away the winner for first-team preseason All-NFC North running back by a scant margin.

In fact, Swift came in fourth. He also trailed Detroit's speedy Jahmyr Gibbs.

iS MOST OVERRATED BEAR SOMEONE EVEN BEING RATED?

BEARS FACING THE MOST PRESSURE AT OUTSET OF CAMP

ARE PACKERS MOST LIKELY TEAM TO BE BUMPED BY A BEARS PLAYOFF RUN?

Swift hasn't done enough at either of his first two NFL stops to garner the kind of support Jacobs and Jones received, but the belief by the Bears is he'll now get a real chance to display his breakaway ability in coordinator Shane Waldron's new offense.

"He's a weapon out of the backfield, which is outstanding for our passing game, and it's going to create some mismatches for us," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "He can do a lot of things from the backfield. He can split them out wide and run the full route tree. He's exciting to watch."

Swift hasn't been the combination of power and speed that Jacobs was for the Raiders and is for the Packers, and he hasn't had the dependability as an all-around weapon that Jones had been in Green Bay.

One sure way for a team to battle the Tampa-2 style defense like the Bears run is underneath with the running game and with backs catching passes. So the Packers and the Vikings are both well equipped to do this, as is Detroit with Gibbs and David Montgomery.

All NFC North RB: Josh Jacobs, Green Bay

The Packers made a rare bold move in free agency, signing Josh Jacobs and releasing Aaron Jones.

The Packers are betting on Jacobs having a bounce-back season. After rushing for an NFL-high 1,653 yards with 12 touchdowns and a 4.9-yard average in 17 games in 2022, Jacobs rushed for 805 yards with six touchdowns and a 3.5-yard average in 13 games in 2023.

It wasn’t just those baseline numbers. According to Pro Football Focus:

• Jacobs went from causing 90 missed tackles in 2022 to 28 in 2023. In 90 fewer carries, Jones forced 26 missed tackles.
  

• On a per-carry basis, Jacobs went from 3.78 rushes per missed tackle in 2022 to 8.32 in 2023. Jones in 2023 averaged 5.50 carries per missed tackle.
  

• Jacobs went from 3.40 yards after contact in 2022 to 2.35 in 2023. Jones averaged 3.16 yards after contact.
  

• Jacobs produced 41 10-yard runs in 2022 to nine in 2023. Jones had 15.
  

However, the Packers are offering stability while Jacobs dealt with disarray when he played under the franchise tag in Las Vegas.

Last offseason, the Raiders replaced quarterback Derek Carr with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell. The Raiders' inability to throw the football meant extra
eyeballs were on Jacobs. Next, at midseason, the Raiders fired coach Josh McDaniels.

With coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love, Jacobs views this as an opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the top running backs in the NFL.

As a runner, his powerful running style should be a good fit for winter football. With a pair of 50-catch seasons, he also should be a good fit in the passing game.

-Bill Huber, Packers On SI