After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears, Matt Forte has signed with the New York Jets.
During his tenure in Chicago, Forte racked up a massive 2,035 carries for 8,602 yards and 45 touchdowns. He was also extremely busy as a receiver, catching 487 passes for 4,116 yards and 19 scores. No player exceeded his 2,522 touches and 12,718 yards from scrimmage during that span. Forte was on the field for just over 5,400 snaps, whereas no other running back exceeded 5,000.
That's an extremely impressive résumé, but it also raises questions about whether Forte will be able to hold up as he enters his age-30 season. That's especially the case considering Forte missed three games last season after missing a grand total of five during his first seven years in the league. Additionally, Forte's yards per carry dipped from 4.6 during the 2010 to 2013 seasons to 4.0 over the past two years.
That said, Forte was effective during his most recent stretch of work. Despite a dip in efficiency from his prime years, he was productive as both a rusher and receiver in 2015. He finished among the top 12 running backs in fantasy points in seven (or 54 percent) of the 13 weeks he was active, which was the best mark among the top 40 players at the position. Despite Chicago's efforts to get then-rookie Jeremy Langford more involved, Forte finished fourth, 15th, fifth, 35th and sixth at the position in the final five weeks of the season.
In New York, Forte takes over as the clear workhorse. Chris Ivory has signed with the Jaguars. Bilal Powell re-signed on Thursday, but is more of a complementary, passing-down back than a threat for lead back duties. Stevan Ridley is a free agent and unlikely to return following the signing of Khiry Robinson. Considering Forte's age and massive workload over the past decade, New York needs depth at the position, but it's unlikely to keep Forte below 15 touches most weeks.
Forte's most-glaring weakness is in the pass blocking department, so the return of Powell makes perfect sense. Additionally, Forte has been brutal in converting near the goal line throughout his career, which explains consistent deficiencies in the touchdown department. Since entering the league, Forte has scored on 18 of 64 carries within three yards of the opponent's goal line. That 28.1 percent conversion rate is dead last among 42 backs with more than 25 carries during the span. Robinson and Zac Stacy are both 7-of-11 (64 percent) in that department during their career and one of them will be a threat to steal goal line work. April's draft is rich with competent backs in the early and middle rounds, and the Jets figure to add a long-term solution on Day 2 or 3.
At the end of the day, Forte is in position for 15-plus touches in a Jets offense that finished sixth in both snaps and touchdowns last season. This is the same unit that allowed Chris Ivory to finish 10th in PPR fantasy points overall, and Powell to rank fifth during weeks he played in full last season. Forte very well could be as busy as Ivory as a rusher, and nearly as involved as Powell as a receiver. On a week-by-week basis, Forte will be a fringe RB1, but concerns about him breaking down are real and should be considered on draft day.