Jordan Howard wasn’t surprised when he was traded last week. He wasn’t even surprised to find out where he was going.
Based on information being delivered to him by his agent, the 24-year-old running back said he actually expected to be traded and expected to be traded to the Eagles for about a month.
“I pretty much knew they were going to be my landing spot, I just didn’t know when,” Howard said. “But I was pretty excited.”
Because of that, he began to follow the Eagles’ offseason a little more closely. He made sure his No. 24 would be available. It is. Corey Graham is gone. Howard said he’ll wear 24 with the Eagles.
Here are five other takeaways from his introductory press conference on Monday:
Drop in production
While Howard is third in the NFL in rushing yards since coming into the league as a fifth-round pick in 2016, his production has dropped, especially his yards per carry.
NFL
2016: 5.2
2017: 4.1
2018: 3.7
Howard said he didn’t have a good reason why his yards per carry numbers have dropped, but did mention that in his rookie year, teams didn’t know who he was and didn’t game plan for him. Because of injuries at receiver in 2017, Howard said teams began to stack the box. And despite his 3.7 yards per carry last season, Howard said the team success made it much more tolerable. The Bears won 12 games in 2018 before the Eagles knocked them out of the playoffs.
“My rookie season, I had a lot of success, but we only won three games,” Howard said. “That wasn’t fun at all. Since then, last year, that was probably the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been in the league.”
Why was he traded?
Howard didn’t have a good answer for that question.
“I’m not really sure,” he said. “They made a decision. They wanted to move on. I can’t be mad at that or have hard feelings about that.”
It seemed pretty clear the Bears weren’t going to bring Howard back in 2019, especially after they took a sixth-round pick (it can turn into a fifth) to ship him to Philadelphia. This offseason, the Bears did bring in Mike Davis to complement Tarik Cohen in their backfield. And Howard is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Bears likely wanted to get something for a player they weren’t interested in re-signing.
Style of runner
While Howard’s yards per carry have dropped during his time in the NFL, he did rush for 18 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He had nine rushing touchdowns in 2018; the entire group of Eagles running backs had just 12.
How would he describe his running style?
“I’d describe my playing style as being rugged, physical, definitely like setting the tone. I feel like I’m a blue collar player and I feel like this is a blue collar city.”
Offense in Philly
Howard got to hang out with his former teammate Alshon Jeffery on Sunday night and he also knows backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld from their time together at Indiana. He knows plenty about the Eagles’ offense and hopes it’ll allow him to have a big season in 2019, although he hasn’t yet been told about his role in the offense. It seems likely he'll fit in as a first and second down runner at least, but said he's worked hard to become a better pass catcher.
Teams definitely won’t be able to key in too much on Howard, especially with a passing attack that includes Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Howard seems especially excited about the threat Jackson poses as a threat downfield that warrants safety help.
And then there’s Carson Wentz.
“I’ve seen Carson Wentz, what he can do,” Howard said. “He’s an MVP-caliber player when he’s on top of his game. I know what he can do.”
Family pendant
Resting across his chest in the V created by his button-up-shirt, Howard had a diamond-encrusted photo pendant, featuring an image of a younger version of himself, along with his mom and dad.
Reginald Howard died of pulmonary fibrosis when Jordan was just 12. After the death of his father, Howard’s mother, Flora, “stepped it up even more.” Howard said mom doesn’t miss a game, home or away.
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