Here’s The Specific Reason the Bears Wanted Mike Davis
Most people knew the Chicago Bears were going to add a running back in free agency. It was a question of who. There were some notable names that would be available. However, true to form GM Ryan Pace secured somebody that casual fans hadn’t heard much about. His name was Mike Davis, recently of the Seattle Seahawks.
Davis had enjoyed a productive career at South Carolina, earning him the honor of being a 4th round pick of San Francisco in 2015. However, he never really was given a chance there, stuck on a deep depth chart. So in 2017 he left and signed with Seattle. A year later he finally gained more of an opportunity in their backfield.
He made the most of it, rushing for 514 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Still, nobody can say he looked like a feature back who could replace Jordan Howard. So what exactly about him sold the Bears? Well as it turns out, there’s a specific trait he has that is a perfect fit for Matt Nagy’s scheme.
Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus helped to explain.
“Now with one season of head coaching experience under his belt, it’s quite obvious Nagy has taken some of Reid’s philosophy with him to the Windy City, as Chicago’s RPO usage skyrocketed from 2.7% in 2017 (26th) to 19.2% in 2018 (second). With Howard out of town, Nagy and the Bears found themselves another established running back with extensive RPO experience in free agency with the signing of Mike Davis. The former Seahawk had the second-highest rushing grade out of an RPO (77.2) last season, as well as the second-most missed tackles forced per attempt (0.24).”
Mike Davis will help the Bears maximize the run-pass option
The run-pass option is one of the fads that has established itself in the NFL over the past 10 years. It’s a simple situation where the quarterback and running back are in shotgun formation together. The quarterback takes the snap and turns to the running back. At that point, he makes one of three choices. He hands the ball off, he fakes the run and passes, or he keeps it to run himself.
This sort of style has given defenses a hard time in recent years because it doesn’t allow them to be as aggressive as they’d like. They must be constantly aware of the potential for fakes and quarterback keepers. This can often leave holes open up the middle for running backs, provided they know how to take advantage of it.
Davis appears to be one of those types. This is particularly good for the Bears because they have a QB in Mitch Trubisky who is dangerous with his legs. That threat to run is something that adds even more flavor to Matt Nagy’s morphing offense.