Tarik Cohen Almost Wasn't the Running Back Chicago Drafted

Tarik Cohen has established himself as one of the most exciting offensive weapons going in the NFL thus far. A lot of people criticized Chicago for the decision. Why would they draft a running back when they clearly had so many other roster needs? The short answer is GM Ryan Pace. He's a man driven by a simple philosophy. He will draft the best player available, regardless of position. The Bears took Cohen in the fourth round, all 5'6" of him. There were rumblings from the scouting community that the Bears may have gotten a steal. Cohen was already drawing comparisons to former Pro Bowler Darren Sproles. Those were backed up with flashes of his uncanny quickness, athleticism and speed in the preseason. Then he lit up the Atlanta Falcons in the opener and people realized the Bears had something special. Cohen has become a weapon defenses have to game plan for. Never mind the lingering threat of Jordan Howard. What's amazing about all this isn't that the Bears outfoxed everybody when taking him. It's that he almost wasn't the back they ended up drafting.

Dalvin Cook almost filled the role Tarik Cohen now does

During his Thursday press conference ahead of the weekend, head coach John Fox took questions about the upcoming game against the Minnesota Vikings. Of course most of the conversation centered on Mitch Trubisky and his highly-anticipated debut. However the veteran coach got around to talking about the Vikings offense, most notably their recently injured young running back Dalvin Cook. In fact he dropped a mini bombshell on the subject regarding the draft back in April.

[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Dalvin-Cook-Highlights-vs.-Tampa-Bay-Buccaneers-vs.-Vikings-Wk-3-Player-Highlights.mp4"][/video] Minnesota drafted Cook out of Florida State with the 41st pick of the second round. Chicago initially held the 36th pick but traded back with Arizona in order to recoup some of what they lost in the Trubisky deal. They held the 45th selection next. It's fair to wonder if the Vikings grabbing Cook there was what compelled Pace to trade down again when the Bears were on the board. In just four games Cook had compiled 444 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Sadly his incredible start came to an abrupt end when he tore his ACL on the turf at Vikings stadium. People will say the Bears got lucky in that regard, but still. It's a fascinating what-if scenario. There's no guarantee Cook suffers the same injury on the natural grass of Soldier Field. Imagining him and Howard in the same backfield would've likely struck fear in the hearts of opponents. Not that there's reason to complain. Chicago came out looking just fine.