D'Onta Foreman

Foreman took over the lead role in Carolina last year after Christian McCaffrey was traded midseason. He topped 100 rushing yards in five of 11 games and was third in the league with 877 rushing yards Weeks 7-18. He joined the Bears in March on a one-year deal, and as much as their depth chart is varied, Foreman stands out. He's the biggest by far, at 6-0, 235, outweighing the second heaviest (rookie fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson) by 16 pounds despite having run roughly a tenth of a second faster in the 40. Foreman (4.46 pro day 40) is also the fastest Bears running back aside from maybe free-agent pickup Travis Homer (4.48 combine 40), who was a passing-down specialist in Seattle. Foreman and Khalil Herbert are the best runners of the four, while Homer and Johnson are probably the most qualified for passing-down work. Injuries could settle the question, but until then Foreman and his backfield mates are best viewed as lottery tickets rather than immediately useful.

If nothing else, Foreman's perseverance has been admirable. A third-round pick of the Texans in 2017, the Texas product looked like a future starter as a rookie thanks to his blend of size, power and agility, but a torn Achilles tendon the following year put his career in jeopardy as he got cut by Houston and then saw a chance with the Colts slip away after a torn biceps. He finally stayed healthy enough in 2020 to suit up for six games with the Titans, and Foreman rejoined Tennessee in the second half of last season after Derrick Henry broke down, ultimately rushing for a career-high 566 yards in nine games. After signing a one-year deal with the Panthers this spring, Foreman will compete with Chuba Hubbard for backup snaps, and his physical running style could allow him to become the thunder complement to Christian McCaffrey's lightning if Carolina makes an effort to reduce the workload of its injury-prone starter.

Foreman signed with the Falcons in August, competing for a backup role on one of the weaker backfield depth charts in the league. The 2017 third-round pick has seen a once-promising career derailed by injuries, but he could get another shot at regular work if he can just make the team in Atlanta, where Mike Davis is expected to be the lead back.

Foreman's second season in the NFL was a write-off. Between a slow recovery from the torn Achilles tendon that cut short his rookie campaign and a coaching staff that seemed reluctant to trust him once he got healthy, he didn't even enter the lineup until Week 16, when he lost one yard on seven carries against Philadelphia. Despite positive offseason reports, Foreman was released by the Texans in August and quickly scooped up by the division-rival Colts. Shortly thereafter, he was placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps, ruling him out for the entire 2019 campaign.

A third-round pick in last year's draft, Foreman looks like a prototypical power back at an imposing 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, but his game is primarily based on his surprising speed and agility. Smooth footwork and good instincts allow him to weave through traffic with ease, and his burst and vision are good enough to exploit holes as they open. He doesn't run with as much physicality as he could given his size, but he can still gain yards after contact almost despite himself, and at least in college he was effective at the goal line and in short-yardage situations. That skill set is in jeopardy after he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Week 11, just as it seemed as if he was establishing himself in at least a timeshare arrangement with Lamar Miller. While the Texans were optimistic Foreman would be ready to go by training camp, he progressed slower than anticipated and will instead open the campaign on the PUP list. That ensures that he'll miss at least the first six weeks of the season, with an eventual move to injured reserve a possibility if he's unable to get back on the practice field by mid-October. Any loss of lateral agility would have a big impact on his game, but if he does make it back to the Texans at some point in 2018, he could emerge as Houston's primary ballcarrier.

A powerfully built running back with surprising agility and athleticism, Foreman was drafted in the third round by the Texans after Lamar Miller couldn't hold up under a full workload in 2016. Foreman has the size and strength to run between the tackles at 6-1, 233, but in college he showed a tendency to dance around contact rather than using his bulk to power through tacklers. That tendency didn't stop him from rushing for over 2,000 yards and 15 TDs in his final year at Texas, though, and if he can add a physical edge to his speed and elusiveness, he could prove to be a handful for any defense. Miller's presence will restrict his usage as a rookie, and Alfred Blue is still around, but that could give Foreman a chance to develop his skill set further before being asked to handle a large workload.