2022 Chicago Bears Running backs: Better, worse, or push when compared to a year ago

We asked the Windy City Gridiron staffers to answer a series of questions for a preseason roundtable.

Are the Chicago Bears’ 2022 position groups better, worse, or a push from the groups they had for the 2021 season?

We took their answers one position at a time and will roll them out all week long. After checking what we had to say here, let us know your thoughts about the running back position in the comment section below.

Better

Peter Borkowski: This one is on the line of “Better” and “Push.” The key here is that we actually get a full season of David Montgomery, or at least something close to it. Assuming that happens and he is still the David Montgomery we’ve come to know, that should automatically make this year’s group better than last year’s, which didn’t feature Montgomery for a decent amount of games. Khalil Herbert should get better in his sophomore year, and Trestan Ebner looks to be a solid, do-it-all addition to the group. A better o-line than last year will also help immensely.

Jack Salo: Montgomery playing for a defensive coach? Let’s run the ball 30 times a game, and Chicago’s unquestioned starter should see 20+ of those touches. They aren’t holding their breath for Tarik Cohen to recover anymore and instead have a proven fill-in every-down back in Khalil Herbert (who doubles as a return specialist, boost!) and a third-down back who could become so much more in Trestan Ebner. It’s a pro RB room.

Worse

Move along, nothing to see here...

Push

ECD: David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert are the top two backs. However, Trestan Ebner could eventually challenge Khalil Herbert for more playing time based on his potential displayed during the preseason. Health is the big question right now to an otherwise strong backfield.

Josh Sunderbruch: This is largely the same crew with some slight shuffling.

Lester Wiltfong: Until we see if Khalil Herbert and/or Trestan Ebner are effective pass blockers, I can’t give this group an edge over last year’s group with Damien Williams as the top backup to David Montgomery. However, I think Montgomery and company will be utilized much better than the backs were a year ago, so this is a push for now.

Aaron Leming: The top two remain unchanged, and while I like what Treston Ebner can bring as a change of pace back, I’m not really sure the changes on the back end of the depth chart are enough to change this group’s label much. However, this might be their strongest positional group on the offensive side of the ball.

Sam Householder: It was strong last year, and I think it’s just as strong. By season’s end, I could end up saying it is better, but I don’t want to put too much on a rookie with zero regular season carries. If Ebner pops in the regular season, it’s an upgrade, but for now, push.

We put the same question about running backs over on Twitter, and here’s how that poll went.