Jordan Howard got snubbed.

During the unveiling of the NFL's annual top-100 list, when the best 100 players in the league are decided by the players, Howard found himself without a number. Despite his dazzling rookie campaign, he didn't make the list. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott landed in the top 10.

That's strange considering Howard was arguably just as efficient -- if not more efficient -- than his fellow rookie Elliott last season. It's also strange considering Howard arguably has the best chance of stealing Elliott's rushing crown in 2017.

In Elliott's first season with the Cowboys after they made him the fourth overall pick in the draft, he racked up a league-high 1,631 rushing yards. Howard, after the Bears made him the 150th overall pick in the draft, finished second, though he lagged behind Elliott by 318 yards. It wasn't a close race.

Barring unforeseen injuries, look for Howard to close the gap or even overtake Elliott in the category. At the very least, Howard belongs in the same conversation as Elliott as one of the game's best running backs. And he's coming for Elliott's crown.

"I'm definitely trying to be the No. 1 rusher in the league this year," Howard said earlier this month, per the Chicago Tribune.

Usually at this time of year, hyperbole forms the headlines. A bad quarterback (Blake Bortles) has been fixing his mechanics. Another bad quarterback (Brock Osweiler) is already impressing his teammates and says his fundamentals slipped last year. An aging running back (Adrian Peterson) supposedly looks the best he has ever looked.

But Howard's goal is entirely attainable.

It starts with the offensive line

The Bears don't have too many strengths. The interior of their offensive line is their best armor.

At center, they have last year's second-round pick, Cody Whitehair. He was Pro Football Focus' fifth-highest graded center in all of football and the highest-graded second-round pick. At guard, they have Josh Sitton and Kyle Long. Here's what they did last season:

Whitehair and Sitton were the second- and third-highest graded players on the Bears' entire roster.

The Bears don't have the same type of talent on the exteriors -- tackles Charles Leno and Bobby Massie are the weak links of the offensive line -- but their offensive line remains a clear strength. According to Football Outsiders' metrics, the Bears had the eighth-best offensive line in terms of run blocking.

Put together, here's what that line looks like:

The point being, Howard doesn't deserve all of the credit. The Bears' offensive line played a significant role in his successful rookie season. And it will continue to do so.

Howard vs. Elliott

But Howard deserves a significant portion of the credit. After all, we saw what the Bears' running game was like before coach John Fox finally realized what we had already figured out by Week 1: Howard was the team's best back and deserved to be treated like it.

In Week 1, Jeremy Langford rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries (3.4 yards per carry). In Week 2, Langford rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries (2.5 YPC). In Week 3, Howard was finally given the bulk of the carries -- but still only nine -- and rushed for 45 yards (5 YPC). Finally, the job was his. In his first two starts, he totaled 229 yards on 39 carries (5.9 YPC). He never lost the job.

In all, he rushed for 1,313 yards -- falling short of Elliott's 1,631 yards by a significant margin. But look a bit closer at the numbers and you'll see which running back was a bit more productive.

Howard averaged 5.2 yards per carry, while Elliott averaged 5.1. So, it was pretty much a deadlock, with Howard narrowly ahead.

More advanced metrics paint a similar picture. PFF uses a statistic called elusive rating, which "attempts to distill the impact of a runner with the ball independently of the blocking in front of him by looking at how hard he was to bring down." Howard finished with the fifth-best rating among all running backs, while Elliott finished 15th. The Bears back did so by racking up 40 missed tackles on 252 rushing attempts. Elliott forced 36 missed tackles on 322 rushing attempts.

An example of Howard's elusiveness and power:

NFL Gamepass

As that GIF demonstrates, he's tremendous in between the tackles.

Howard is effective between the tackles because his offensive line, as previously noted, is dominant, and he's willing to be patient enough behind their blocks, waiting for the holes to materialize:

NFL Gamepass

PFF also tracks "the percentage of yards that comes on runs of 15 or more yards." Howard had Elliott beat there too, with a 36.9 breakaway percentage (fifth) compared to Elliott's 33.7 percent (ninth).

An example of Howard's home-run capabilities:

NFL Gamepass

Look, none of this is intended to rip Elliott, one of the game's best running backs along with Howard, Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson. Football Outsiders' metrics (DYAR and DVOA) ranked Elliott as the best running back in the game last season, while Howard lagged behind, though he was still in the top five in both categories. It's impossible to ignore Elliott's 15 rushing touchdowns when Howard had just six. Elliott, like Howard, is an incredible running force.

But Elliott won the rushing title because he had 70 more carries than Howard. Again, that's not a knock on Elliott. Staying healthy, taking on a heavy workload and being consistent over the course of an entire season are all important traits for a running back. But it's worth noting that if Howard hadn't been forced to wait until Week 4 to take on the Bears' workhorse role, the rushing race likely would've been much closer.

Howard won't be forced to wait on the sidelines this season. He's going to be the Bears' starter from Week 1 to Week 17.

"This time a year ago, he wasn't even practicing," Fox said earlier this month, per the Chicago Tribune.

Nowhere to go but up

As a team, the Bears' target this season isn't the NFL's Iron Throne. They're not aiming for a reign atop the rest of the league -- at least not in 2017. The Bears, still yet to emerge from the depths of the Lake Michigan, are not ready to compete for a playoff spot. Years of bad drafting and living in win-now mode (without much to show for it) have ensured that much.

For Howard's sake, I desperately hope the Bears wake up from their slumber soon. Watching a great player toil away for bad teams is never fun. It's especially not fun when that player lines up at running back, a position with a shorter shelf life than Stormtroopers.

But the Bears don't have to win games for Howard to attain individual success this season. They just have to be a bit better. Keep in mind that Howard finished second in the league in rushing despite spending most of the year playing alongside quarterbacks named Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley.

If the Bears can improve, they'll be in more games and hold the lead more frequently, which should allow Howard to carry the ball more often as the Bears try to bleed away the clock. If teams are forced to respect their passing game, they won't be able to stack the box and zero in on stopping Howard.

Elliott already has both of those luxuries. The Cowboys are good. They have a top quarterback in Dak Prescott and a top wideout in Dez Bryant. In this area -- supporting casts -- Elliott undoubtedly holds the advantage over Howard.

But here's what is scary: Howard did what he did last season without a reliable supporting cast. The game's best backs often exist within a talented offense. Bell plays alongside Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Johnson is with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. Howard ran a solo mission and still emerged alive and well.

What happens when the rest of the offense shows signs of life? The Bears' offense obviously hasn't peaked yet. By extension, that probably means Howard hasn't either.

Mike Glennon might be just as bad as Hoyer and Barkley -- there's just no way to know -- but if he can just be marginally better, he'll have a positive impact on Howard. Meanwhile, the Bears can expect No. 1 receiver Cameron Meredith to improve. He already built off his 11-catch, 120-yard season in 2015 with a 66-catch, 888-yard season in 2016. Kevin White is also due to improve considering he has appeared in four games in the past two seasons. At this point, there's nowhere to go but up. Tight end might actually turn into a position of strength considering they're bringing back Zach Miller (nine touchdowns since 2015) and bringing in rookie Adam Shaheen (aka mini Gronk).

It's not unreasonable to suggest that the Bears will be better in 2017. It's also not unreasonable to suggest that Howard will be better when he's surrounded by competent players.

Others will challenge Elliott

Howard won't be alone. He won't be the only back coming for Elliott's rushing crown.

To save myself from fielding endless complaints from Dolphins, Cardinals, Titans and Steelers fans, here's where I'm required to acknowledge that I can just as easily see Jay Ajayi, David Johnson, DeMarco Murray or Le'Veon Bell leading the league in rushing next season. Elliott could win again too, though a running back hasn't secured consecutive rushing crowns since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and '07.

They're all awesome players, and most of them will play on better teams than Howard. They all have a chance.

The reason this story centered on Howard is because he has been overlooked for the past year. He was overlooked when he dropped to the fifth round. He was overlooked when the Bears placed Jeremy Langford and Ka'Deem Carey above him on the depth chart. And he was overlooked when his counterparts around the league voted on the 100 best players in all of football.

Stop overlooking Jordan Howard. He's worthy of your attention.