Clayton predicts great season for Chicago’s Benson

ESPN analyst John Clayton is predicting a great season for the Chicago Bears Cedric Benson.

“Cedric Benson has a different running style than Thomas Jones, but he should have a great season. Jones ran for 1,330 yards in 2005 and 1,210 yards in 2006. Benson has the potential to better that.”

I agree. Benson is a physical runner with a great burst and he has the ability to make big plays on offense for the Bears when he finds his groove. The biggest thing for him is getting to that. Too many times last season he was pulled from games after a couple consecutive series. Benson is the type of back who grows stronger as games progress and he gets more touches.

And being in Chicago’s offense, he has great potential. The Bears are going to continue relying on the running game while Rex Grossman continues to develop and mature as a passer and Benson is going to get the vast majority of those touches.

The best part? Benson is falling into the mid-late second round of most drafts. He’s a great value there, and he has more potential than some who will be taken ahead of him. (Edgerrin James, Deuce McAllister and Ronnie Brown are three names that come to mind.)