The City of Brotherly Love has always been a deceiving moniker—it took all of five innings for the boo birds to take aim at new franchise building block Bryce Harper Thursday in his Phillies debut. The Eagles and their rabid fan base can sometimes be a tough bunch to please but at the risk of sounding naïve, I predict the Philly faithful will take a quick liking to Jordan Howard, a two-time 1,000-rusher acquired from Chicago last Thursday. And even if the Howard experiment falls spectacularly flat, even if the fourth-year chain-mover gets swallowed up by the harsh sea of criticism that has drowned more than a few Philly sports icons, you can’t blame Eagles brass for at least giving him a spin. Allowing Howard, a prodigious stat-compiler with Pro Bowl pedigree, a chance to breathe new life into a comically-dormant Eagles’ rushing attack makes all the sense in the world and all it cost the Birds was a measly sixth-rounder in 2020.
The trade was a collaborative effort between two pioneering alums of the Andy Reid coaching tree, Eagles Häagen-Dazs-loving head coach Doug Pederson and his Chicago counterpart, fellow visor enthusiast Matt Nagy. We love to declare winners and losers in trades—a patently absurd exercise since neither team has played so much as a snap since the deal took place—but this swap should benefit both parties. With newcomer Mike Davis in tow and Tarik Cohen the preferred commodity on passing downs, Howard knew his future wasn’t in the Windy City. Which made the backfield-starved Eagles—only the Cardinals and Buccaneers averaged fewer yards per carry last season—an ideal match for Howard’s skill set.
Heading into his contract year, the Indiana alum (he transferred to Bloomington after UAB briefly disbanded its football program) has “rental” written all over him. Howard could very well be one-and-done in the cheesesteak capital but if you’re going to go the flyer route, who better to invest in than a 224-pound jack-hammer who, at just 24 years of age, should theoretically be entering his prime? Even if this is just a pit-stop for Howard on the road to a plush deal in next year’s free agency, the Eagles are taking on remarkably little risk, shelling out a mere sixth-rounder for a player capable of leading the league in rushing—he finished runner-up to Ezekiel Elliott for the rushing title just two short years ago.
In the likely event that Howard walks after 2019, the Eagles would be due a compensatory pick, adding to the haul they’ve already been given this year and will surely receive next year from the departures of Nick Foles, Golden Tate and Jordan Hicks, who all signed elsewhere in free agency. And if you’re still not convinced that GM Howie Roseman should be our next president, I’ll do you one better—Howard, he of 25 lifetime touchdowns, will earn a modest sum of $720,000 this season. The Jets just threw the kitchen sink at Le’Veon Bell, a well-chronicled knucklehead whose weak flow has spawned widespread Twitter mockery (props to Keenan Allen for telling it like it is), while the Eagles are getting Howard for a fraction of the cost with zero of the drama. Quite the parlor trick there, Howie.
I know I’ve been talking him up for four paragraphs, but don’t get the wrong idea about Howard. Saquon, he is not. The Eagles didn’t have to give up an arm, a leg or even a pinkie to get him and there’s a reason for that. Thriving as the center piece of a bare-bones Chicago offense, Howard blew the doors off with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 and 2017. But the honeymoon ended shortly after as the 2016 fifth-rounder watched his flaws come to light under first-year coach Matt Nagy. With jack-of-all-trades Tarik Cohen fighting for a bigger piece of the backfield pie, Howard’s volume shrunk (16.9 touches per game compared to 18.7 in 2017) and so did his efficiency (career-worst 3.7 yards per carry). After clearing 100 yards seven times in his debut 2016 campaign and on five more occasions in 2017, the Alabama native cleared that threshold just twice in 16 appearances last year.
You could make the argument that Howard overachieved in his first two seasons, supplying steady production despite waiting 150 picks to hear his name called in 2016. Nine running backs went ahead of him in a class headlined by Elliott and Heisman winner Derrick Henry (Henry’s Alabama teammate, Kenyan Drake, also got the call before Howard that year). Given his low draft standing, maybe it was just a matter of time before Howard’s weaknesses were exposed.
[[ad:athena]]
Despite relatively low expectations, the ex-Hoosier made quick work of Jeremy Langford, leapfrogging the incumbent starter while ascending to bell-cow status. Howard lost some steam in his sophomore campaign, watching his yards per carry dip from 5.2—the league’s fourth-highest that year—to 4.1 in 2017. But even with Cohen nipping at his heels, Howard still put up huge counting stats, stuffing the box score with 1,122 yards (sixth-most among ball-carriers) and a career-best nine touchdowns. Howard’s decline continued the following year, but this time the drop-off was much steeper as the bruising power back limped to career-lows in rushing yards (935), yards from scrimmage (1,080), missed tackles (22) and just about any other stat you could think of.
In an increasingly pass-oriented league, Howard has consistently been a step behind, face-planting in his ongoing quest for pass-catching relevance. Howard may not be an old dog, but catching the pigskin is a new trick he can’t seem to grasp. Well-aware of this perceived shortcoming, the former All-Big 10 selection vowed to carve out a meaningful pass-catching role in 2018. It looked like Howard was finally ready to turn the corner after absorbing 10 catches in his first three contests but that spike proved little more than a mirage as the third-year bruiser limped to just 10 catches over his final 13 appearances.
Howard may be something of an anomaly, a one-dimensional relic in a league flush with versatile, multi-use backs. But even if he’s a dying breed in today’s pass-centric NFL, Howard still carries a strong track record and a nose for the end zone, traits that surely enticed his new employer. Howard’s lack of pass-catching expertise renders him more of a two-down thumper than a workhorse in the mold of Todd Gurley or Christian McCaffrey. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and while Howard may have been a square peg in Matt Nagy’s offense, he can still be of use to a Philly squad that ranked 28th out of 32 teams in rushing yards last season. The Eagles have quantity but not much quality in their backfield, returning Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood, Boston Scott and Corey Clement from last year. Aging gadget man Darren Sproles remains undecided on his return while Howard’s arrival makes it unlikely we’ll see Jay Ajayi—who is coming off ACL surgery—back in an Eagles uniform. If Howard can’t beat out those names for top billing in Philadelphia, he belongs in the concourse working the stadium snack bar instead of wasting our time.
Howard should provide a much-needed upgrade for the Eagles, who haven’t seen a 1,000-yard rusher since LeSean McCoy cracked the millennium barrier back in 2014. But that doesn’t guarantee Philadelphia will stand pat. Duke Johnson was a no-show for the first day of Browns OTAs and reportedly wants out of Cleveland. The Eagles have sniffed around on Duke before and may have renewed interest now that he and the Browns are headed for a messy divorce. Teaming Johnson, one of the more polished receiving backs in football (235 career catches), with Howard, a grinder with goal-line chops, would be a near-perfect pairing. If that door closes for the Eagles—the Cowboys, Jets and Texans are also pursuing Johnson—Philadelphia could certainly explore their options in the upcoming draft. In fact, beat writer Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice had the Eagles selecting Oklahoma State standout Justice Hill in his latest mock.
Coming off an unexpected Super Bowl triumph in 2017, the Eagles crashed back to earth in 2018, barely reaching the playoffs while losing franchise quarterback Carson Wentz to another season-ending injury. With Nick Foles bringing his signature devil magic to Jacksonville and questions surrounding Wentz’s leadership (or lack thereof), Howard is entering a fragile ecosystem in Philadelphia. If Wentz returns to his throne as one of the league’s premier signal-callers, a post he inhabited before injuries reared their nasty head in 2017, the Eagles should be equipped for another title run. Fans may have cut the Eagles some slack coming off their biggest win to date, but if they go through the motions again this year, don’t expect the peanut gallery to exercise the same patience they showed in 2018.
With Howard’s Chicago days behind him, the Bears move forward with a tandem backfield featuring free-agent signing Mike Davis and Cohen, a third-year juke machine and All-Pro return specialist. Davis has traveled a journeyman’s path but is coming off a career-best year with the Seahawks that saw him log 728 yards (514 rushing, 214 receiving) and five touchdowns while averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry. Howard’s career numbers dwarf Davis’, but that’s deceiving as Howard was the beneficiary of heavy volume throughout his Bears tenure while Davis was a complementary piece at his previous stops in San Francisco and Seattle. While Cohen’s slight frame—he’s listed at a comparatively puny 5’6”/181—will probably prevent him from achieving workhorse status, Nagy will continue to involve him in ways that highlight his explosiveness.
This is a safe, measured move by the Eagles, who are getting an accomplished, highly durable (he’s missed just one game in three NFL seasons) starter in Howard, who should be hungry for redemption after being cruelly discarded by the Bears. With free agency waiting for him on the other side of 2019, Howard will have plenty at stake in his first and perhaps only season in Philadelphia. Bryce Harper’s in charge now but come fall, across the parking lot at Lincoln Financial Field, the lights will shine bright and a new hero will be called upon. Maybe Carson Wentz will be the one to answer that call or perhaps Zach Ertz. But Howard better have his Superman cape handy, just in case.
