Jeremy Langford is expected to win the Chicago Bears’ starting running back job this season. He still has some competition to beat out in rookie running back Jordan Howard, but the Bears are very confident in Langford’s ability and his emergence as a rookie last season made them comfortable with letting Matt Forte walk in free agency.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what kind of season Langford ends up having in 2016.
That being said, what should fantasy football owners expect to receive from him this coming season?
First of all, Langford is a very solid dual-threat running back. He will pick up a lot of yardage on the ground, but is more than capable of being a dangerous receiver out of the backfield as well. Langford will be depended on to take over that role from Forte.
Last season with the Bears, Langford ended up carrying the football 148 times for 537 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown.
Those numbers show exactly why the Bears feel comfortable with Langford taking on a bigger role. He will not be a No. 1 option for fantasy owners, but he could be a solid No. 2 running back. Many owners picked him up last year when Forte went down with injury and were impressed with the production that he put up for them.
Chicago is going to rely on their ground game heavily this coming season. Jay Cutler is not able to power an offense by himself, as he has shown in past years.
Langford would be a very solid pick fairly early in the draft. Predicting his season isn’t easy, but it would be reasonable to expect him to carry the football around 300 times for 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. He could end up performing under that prediction, although he could also receive a bigger role and exceed expectations.
Expect to see him come through with a big season and be a huge player for whoever drafts him. He may not end up being a superstar this season, but he will be a very valuable pick for any fantasy team.
