Khalil Herbert Packing More Punch

Khalil Herbert is ready to fight for his starting running back position, figuratively and literally.

He'll have a battle with D'Onta Foreman and possibly Roschon Johnson at training camp to sort out who gets the most carries and how they fit into the game plans. In the meantime, the third-year back has tried to improve one of his big weaknesses to make sure he isn't losing playing team because of it.

He's set on becoming a better pass blocker, like former Bears back David Montgomery was, but he's training for it in a unique way.

"Yeah, I mean, you've got to be an every down back, so that's a big part of it," Herbert said. "It's something I worked on throughout this offseason.

"I don't know (how much) compared to the other guys but it's something I've been working on to fix."

So how does a back work on pass blocking on his own, especially when there is no contact allowed in OTAs, minicamp or even the early part of training camp?

"Punching," Herbert said. "Punching bags, boxing. I did boxing this offseason just to work on my punch time.

"You know, different things like that. Everybody's different but that's what I tried working on to help me."

It's a huge question for this Bears offense. The all-around back was critical in this system with Green Bay when Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was an assistant there.

Pro Football Focus had Herbert graded the 29th best pass blocker among backs, which isn't terrible and shows his potential if he works at it.

It's all critical and falls in line with improving the offensive line as the Bears offense tries to keep Justin Fields from being hit and sacked as much as the last two years. He tied Russell Wilson for most times sacked last year at 55.

Aside from the blocking, Herbert also needs to improve his hands. He had nine catches and two drops last season.

PFF had him as the 52nd-ranked receiver among backs last year. The Bears have other options who might work better as receivers out of the backfield, like Travis Homer or Johnson, but Herbert is going to get first crack at it as a back who led all NFL backs in yards per carry last season at 5.7.

Coach Matt Eberflus reminds everyone Herbert's biggest draw is that running ability after he made 22 runs of 10 yards or longer and averaged 3.67 yards after contact.

"Just his ability to hit the home run. He can really do a great job of hitting the home run," Eberflus said. "He's got great vision. He's got great cut-back ability.

"He can take the ball outside and bounce it outside, but he's really good at cutting it back when it's there. We're excited where he is."

No doubt they'll be a little more excited if he can prove the boxing he's doing works to the benefit of his pass blocking.

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