The Chicago Bears drafting Tarik Cohen back in the spring came as a shock to many fans. Here was a team is sore need of help at other positions. They already had a Pro Bowl running back in Jordan Howard, not to mention two previous fourth round picks in Jeremy Langford and Ka’Deem Carey. Why in the world would they spent another on Cohen, who was all of 5’6″ from tiny North Carolina A&T?
Well NFL insider Ian Rapoport shed some fascinating light on the situation. It turns out GM Ryan Pace asked his scout in charge of the Southeast area of the country who his favorite player was. Most would expect him to name somebody from a power conference like the SEC or ACC. Turns out not so much. The first name out of his mouth?
Running back Tarik Cohen.
There are so many things great about that. First it’s proof that the Bears were and still are focused on acquiring the best players available. It shows the amount of faith that GM Ryan Pace has in his staff. Seemingly well-founded faith at this point. Last but not least it’s a subtle reminder of how well Pace understands how to play the draft board.
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The Bears could’ve easily gotten their playmaker in Cohen in the second round after locking up Mitch Trubisky early. Instead they trusted their instincts, believing other teams wouldn’t be privy to Cohen and he’d likely fall to the mid rounds due to his size and small school background. After securing Adam Shaheen following a trade back in the second round, which secured them an extra fourth rounder, they used that pick to grab Cohen.
That is textbook draft management at its finest.
