Jordan Howard Still Has One Big Regret About His 2016 Season

Jordan Howard already strikes as a young man who is never satisfied with being good. He'll settle for nothing less than being great. That is the best explanation for his rise to stardom with the Chicago Bears. It's how he overcame his first college football program being disbanded. It's how he went from being a fifth round pick in the draft to the starting running back and went to the Pro Bowl his first year. All the while he never seemed to lose that humble attitude. Perhaps it's because he was forced to grow up faster than most youth. This due to the tragic fact he lost his father to Pulmonary Fibrosis. Since then he's championed charity drives to help combat the disease while also seeking to take care of his mother. Rushing for 1,313 yards in his first season is a great way to start. Many already think Howard is the next big star in this city, and Chicago Magazine agrees.

Jordan Howard admits one big regret about 2016

Their annual prestigious of up-and-coming power players in the city was released. It featured loads of influential names with valued jobs. It included playwright Ike Holter, music producer Peter Cottontale, and Cook County commissioner Bridget Gainer. Only one athlete made the list, and that was Howard. They feel his pull around town is only going to get stronger. During their interview with him they talked about his goals with the team and off the field. However, just as things were wrapping up they talked about how good he'd done as a rookie in 2016. The running back couldn't let that pass without offering one gripe about how it all played out.

"Looking back at the three games before he earned the starting running back role last year (a year in which he wound up being selected for the Pro Bowl), Howard says, “I feel like if I would’ve been playing a little bit earlier on in the season, I might have made a bigger impact in some of those games.” He’ll get his chance in 2017."

Competitive drive unceasing

No doubt Howard is still a bit salty over not being the starter from the beginning last year. Hindsight is 20/20 of course. It's easy to say that now, but at the time it looked like Jeremy Langford was well-position to take over for Matt Forte as the next man up. Then again it became apparent who the most productive runner was in the preseason. Howard had 173 yards and a touchdown. Langford had 79 yards and a touchdown. It took three weeks for the coaches to wise up. By that time the Bears were 0-3 and lost any sort of momentum they had from a strong finish in the preseason. Maybe if Howard had played from the start they could've gotten one or even two of those games and things would've been different. Or maybe it would've just robbed the Bears of getting their chance to land Mitch Trubisky in draft. Either way it's welcome to hear that Jordan Howard is no less competitive now than he's been since he arrived last year.