For all the attention paid rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and veteran free agent QB Mike Glennon, this year’s Bears offense will rise or fall with its ground game.

The best player on the Bears right now is running back Jordan Howard, and the only other Pro Bowlers on the team are guards Josh Sitton and Kyle Long.

The most exciting newcomer on the team is Tarik Cohen, not Trubisky, and it has been clear from the first day in Bourbonnais that the Bears plan to run some portion of their offense through their new change-of-pace, third-down back.

None of that is a knock on Trubisky, nor should it diminish the excitement around the possibility the Bears have finally found their quarterback of the future.

To state it as kindly as possible, these Bears are dangerously thin at wide receiver and deep but not special at tight end.

The more often the Bears run the ball and the more efficiently they do it, the more the defense is resting on the sidelines and the less the opponents’ playmakers are on the field.

The more rested the defense is, the better its ability to create pressure when it’s on the field and the more pressure it creates, the better the chances it’ll take the football away.

Ask a pass-catcher, No. 2 tight end Zach Miller, what he likes in the Bears’ offense.

“A number of things,” he said. “Our toughness. I think we’re going to be a tough football team. I think we’ll come out and surprise some people.

“I think what we want to do is run the ball efficiently. I think we’re going to do that Week 1.”

Howard is jacked, as well, and gets particularly pumped when told coach John Fox says his club will be a run first team.

“I love that,” Howard said. “Any time we run the ball, I’m very excited about that. We’ll use the run to set up the pass, so we’re going to work hand-in-hand.”

Howard also wants to make it crystal clear that he’s ready to carry his team, and he has plenty of help.

“I’m definitely ready to carry a big load,” he said. “I also don’t have to do it by myself. We got a lot of help around me. There’s really no pressure.

“They do a lot of stuff I can’t do, especially Tarik. There’s a lot of stuff — I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do. He’s a great guy. Benny (Cunningham), too.”

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains thinks Cohen may be the secret sauce his offense lacked last year.

“I think he’s going to be a good change-of-pace guy for Jordan,” Loggains said. “Obviously, you guys saw the Arizona game. He has speed and quickness.

“And don’t underestimate him because of his size, because he’s a tough, compact kid, strong, and we’re excited about the role he’s going to fill.”

Another tipoff to the Bears’ dependence on the ground game this year is the presence of a true fullback, Michael Burton.

It’s a decision Loggains likes a lot.

“I personally do,” he said. “It’s something I was accustomed to in Tennessee. I was with it in Cleveland. Everywhere I’ve been, we’ve played with a fullback.

“I think there are benefits, as well, to not everything being a one-back (offense) where they’re just fitting gaps. They’re having to play some two-back runs.”

Miller sums up the value of the Bears’ commitment to the ground game.

“Yeah man, I’m cool with that,” he said. “Listen, this is football. We’ll throw it, too. We’ll throw it plenty. I think that run game will set that up.

“If we can run it, it’ll open some things up for us in the pass game. We’ve got some good guys in that backfield across the board, dangerous weapons, a lot of mix and match.

“We have speed, power, a lot of guys who need the football. We’ll be well-balanced, but we’re going to run the ball, and I think we’re going to do it pretty well.”

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.