How did Tarik Cohen 2017 play out compared to expectations

With the Chicago Bears season now over, it is a good chance to see who met or exceeded or failed to meet expectations in 2017. For this edition, we take a look at Tarik Cohen.

Preseason Expectations:

The expectations of the rookie from North Carolina A&T were unknown. How could anyone know? The Chicago Bears spent most of the preseason hiding him. By the start of the season, all indication was that he would be involved in the return game, and his role on offense would be minimal at best.

2017 Review:

In Week One, the Chicago Bears unveiled the secret weapon. The hiding of Cohen was over and he was officially a key component of the offense. In Week One he caught eight passes and put in 113 total yards and a touchdown. He caught eight passes again the following week, saw 12 carries in Week Three and slowly faded out of the offense from there. After Week Two, he only topped four receptions once, in Week 17. From Week Three on, he only had 12 carries in a game twice. In Week Two, Cohen played a career-high 40 snaps, 62% of the team’s offensive snaps. He never played over half of their snaps in a game from that point on.

There is no real explanation as to why Cohen stopped being used, although John Fox hinted at pass blocking issues. Still, after bursting onto the scene, it feels as though Cohen eventually became dusty from sitting on the shelf too long.

Offseason outlook

Cohen will certainly still want to bulk up, and pass protection will be a must for him. However, he is still well built and with better coaching, it does not feel like that will be something that affects his game in the long term. There should be a lot of upside and optimism around Cohen heading into the offseason and what new thinking can do with his talents.