Chicago Bears - Fantasy News

Jeremy Langford 2017 Fantasy Projections

by Derek Norton

8/13/17

NFL

Chicago Bears

Jeremy Langford

Jeremy Langford had a shot to be a starter in Chicago going into the 2016 NFL season. When Matt Forte missed three games in 2015, the former Michigan State star averaged 17 carries, 122 yards and 1.3 touchdowns. Forte departed for the New York Jets in the offseason, leaving Langford first in line to benefit.

But the idea of him as a starter didn’t last long. The Bears drafted Jordan Howard, who went on to replace the injured and ineffective Langford. Just a year later, Langford is possibly not even worth drafting.

Why Jeremy Langford Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Stud

For all of the holes on Chicago’s roster, the Bears do have a decent offensive line. The interior of Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair and Josh Sitton is the envy of most teams. While not as good as the interior, the tackles (Charles Leno and Bobby Massie) are serviceable as well. Any running back would benefit from that situation.

The Bears should profit from a last-place schedule. They have five games against teams that finished 25^th or worse in fantasy points allowed to running backs (Atlanta, Pittsburgh, at New Orleans, San Francisco and Cleveland). Meanwhile, they have just two games against teams that finished in the top 10 (at Baltimore and Carolina).

At the moment, Langford is technically second on the depth chart ahead of Ka’Deem Carey and Benny Cunningham. Should anything happen to Howard, Langford is first in line to take his spot.

Why Jeremy Langford Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Dud

Langford fell off quite a bit in 2016, which is rough since he wasn’t that good in 2015. He went from 3.6 yards per carry to 3.2 yards per rush and averaged just 5.3 Dober Fantasy Points per game last season.

As Langford’s Dober points took a nosedive, so too did his snaps and touches. He played 54 of 56 snaps in Week 1 and didn’t touch those numbers again for the rest of the season. From Week 3 on, he didn’t play more than 42 percent of the snaps or more than 29 total snaps in a game.

As for touches, Langford averaged just 6.8 in the 12 games he played. His 81 total ranked him 64^th among running backs after receiving 170 touches (10.6 per game) in 2015.

Judging by his usage last season, Langford isn’t going to see the field much at all as long as Howard is healthy. The former UAB and Indiana star had a Pro Bowl rookie season in which he rushed for 1,313 yards (second in the league) and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Langford doesn’t seem to have a role other than depth and spelling Howard.

Langford’s Pro Football Focus rating aligns with his poor stats. He was the 59^th-ranked running back with a score of 46.4. He was graded as an average pass blocker but a below-average runner and receiver. That might cut it as a bench player on an NFL roster but should be nowhere near a fantasy roster.

There’s no guarantee Langford will even make the Bears’ final roster. Chicago spent a fourth-round pick on Tarik Cohen. Cohen isn’t a threat to Howard due to his size (5-foot-6, 179 pounds) but the Bears may have drafted him for a specific role. Langford doesn’t have a clear role and wasn’t drafted by the current general manager, so he could be deemed expendable.