The trade made by the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire quarterback Geno Smith after they had locked up Maxx Crosby with a contract extension points that team in only one direction for the draft.
Bears fans who like Ashton Jeanty as a possible pick at No. 10 won't like it.
The Raiders most likely will take Jeanty No. 6 overall.
The team's website tells the tale with a story listing the opinions of 11 top draft experts on which way they'll go, and five said Jeanty even before the Crosby and Smith moves. These moves make it all the more apparent they'll opt for Jeanty, as new coach Pete Carroll always valued the running game greatly
The Bears obviously need a running back but they need pass rush and offensive line help more than a running back, anyway.
They can still get the ideal running back for what their offense plans to do later in he draft, anyway.
The perfect running back for the Bears is Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins.
The Ben Johnson running back usage template involves the "Sonic and Knuckles" approach, from the Sega Genesis video game. The Lions had David Montgomery as Knuckles and Jahmyr Gibbs as Sonic.
The Bears already have their version of Sonic in D'Andre Swift. He might be a bit flawed but does have the speed and ability to be used well in the passing game, particularly on screens.
What they really need is the power back who is going to break tackles and fit their run-blocking scheme well.
Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus describes Judkins as the fourth-best back in the draft and a "north-to-south" runner. He's not pictured as someone who dodges tackles but powers through them and will finish off runs.
At 221 pounds, he really finishes off runs. He's not the 202-pounder or 195-pounder who does it with speed. He'll give his blocking a chance and find the crease to turn 2-yarders into 4-yarders, second-and-3 in to a first down and score at the goal line.
He would be fine in the new Bears running game because the blocking scheme is no longer wide-zone reliant. Johnson described more of a multiple approach to blocking schemes for his offense and Judkins is a good fit for gap schemes and inside zone, although he can also get used well in the wide zone as a one-cut runner with proper blocking.
Judkins played three years, the first two at Mississippi, and displayed starting running back ability by breaking 1,000 yards every year, even last season when he split backfield time with breakaway threat TreVeyon Henderson.
Judkins had 16, 15 and 14 touchdowns rushing in three seasons, averaged 5.1 yards a carry and also proved his value as a receiver by averaging 7.5 yards for 59 receptions with five TDs.
While Montgomery is the original Knuckles, he lacked the breakaway speed Judkins has. At the combine, Judkins ran 4.48 seconds in the 40, .12 better than Montgomery's combine timing.
For pure athleticism, Judkins exploded at the combine as he had the best broad jump of all backs at 11 feet while he had a vertical leap of 38 1/2 inches.
He's also quick off the mark with a 1.51-second 10-yard split on his 40, tying him with Trevor Etienne and Donovan Edwards for second behind Bhayshul Tuten of Virginia Tech.
NFL.com Around the NFL writer Nick Shook placed Judkins on his All-Combine team as one of the two backs, the other being Trevor Etienne.
"As he proved in his collegiate days at Ole Miss and Ohio State, Judkins can be an every-down back," Shook concluded about Judkins after watching his workout.
Kaleb Johnson has received plenty of notoriety as a one-cut, power type runner but Judkins might be preferred as his running style is a bit lower to the ground then Johnson. Judkins had a PFF grade in the top 17.2% for gap scheme and top 14.8% for zone blocking.
PFF labels scouting report on Judkins notes one thing the Bears sorely need from a starting running back. After describing his physical style of running, PFF concludes: “That physical play style also shows up in pass protection, where he made some devastating blocks and impressive plays in college.”
A back who can block is always welcome in any NFL backfield, and as Ben Johnson told everyone “no block, no rock.”
Johnson might be a good choice for the Bears, as well, but they'll get a back more suited to their exact blocking scheme by drafting Judkins.
As for the speed, a 4.48 was slower compared to some of the extremely fast backs at the combine this year but even as a power back Judkins' timing was exactly what Swift's was at the combine.
If the Bears are really serious about a Knuckles and Sonic approach, they can use this draft to find their own version of a speed back as Tuten from Virginia Tech ran a 4.32, four one-hundreths of a second faster than the 4.36 Gibbs put down at the combine.
