LAKE FOREST, Ill. – When the Bears signed three key free agents last Friday, no one inside Halas Hall felt more like a kid on Christmas morning than new offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

New Bears running back Chester Taylor is expected to share the backfield workload with Matt Forte.

Running back Chester Taylor, tight end Brandon Manumaleuna and even defensive end Julius Peppers will all help Martz’s offense.

Taylor joins the Bears after spending the previous four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. The versatile 5-11, 213-pounder rushed for 1,216 yards as a starter in 2006 before backing up Adrian Peterson the past three years.

“He’s a complete back,” Martz said. “He can be a power back, but he has that burst that you need on the perimeter. He has excellent hands. He’s a very willing and competent pass blocker. He’s a real solid player.”

A skilled receiver who caught 42, 29, 45 and 44 passes in his four seasons in Minnesota, Taylor seemingly possesses the ideal traits for a running back in Martz’s system. But the Bears offensive coordinator believes that Taylor would excel on any NFL team.

“He’d fit into anybody’s offense,” Martz said. “It would be unfair to him to say that he’s going to be good in any particular offense. He’s just an outstanding player really. But obviously the things that we do and the different ways we use a back really suit him, whether it’s in the passing game or moving him around and handing him the ball.”

Taylor is 30 years old. But unlike many running backs his age, he doesn’t have a whole lot of mileage on his tires. He’s served as a complementary back in seven of eight NFL seasons, backing up Jamal Lewis with the Baltimore Ravens from 2002-05 before joining the Vikings.

Taylor has only 1,028 career carries. Two other 30-year-old running backs looking for new teams, LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook, have 2,880 and 1,309 rushing attempts, respectively.

“I think there is a certain amount of wear and  tear on backs—and really all NFL players—the more they play,” Martz said. “The more carries you have, your body does wear down somewhat. But [Taylor] is in terrific shape. I think that he’s a real bonus for us.”

Martz intends to utilize both Taylor and incumbent Matt Forte at running back and insists that it doesn’t matter which player is officially listed on the depth chart with the No. 1 offense.

“We have two starters,” Martz said. “That’s how we look at it. We’re fortunate to have two starters. As you look around the National Football League, the teams that are running the ball well, they all have two starters. They’ve got two backs. It’s not a 1-2 punch as much as either one of those guys can carry the  load. That’s just how they approach it. They will share duties.”

Brandon Manumaleuna is a big, physical and athletic tight end who can block and catch the ball.

Martz is equally excited about reuniting with Manumaleuna, a 6-2, 295-pound tight end who played for the Bears offensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams in 2001-05.

“Brandon is very athletic for his size,” Martz said. “He’s got great body control. He’s extremely adept as an inline blocker. He can handle a defensive end all by himself. He’s an unusually good pass blocker, and we’ll utilize him in that area as well as throw him the football.”

Considered one of the NFL’s best blocking tight ends, Manumaleuna also has 110 receptions for 965 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Rams and San Diego Chargers (2006-09).

“Here’s a 300-pound tight end with athleticism,” Martz said. “Any time you can have a guy help you block on the edge, those two backs we were talking about, it increases the different things that you can do with them. 

"When the ball does wind back to the tight end side, you know that that block is going to be held, and you can double-team on the edge better with a bigger tight end.

“There are so many things that he can create for the offense, whether it’s in the passing game or the running game just because of how physical he is.”

Having prepared to face Peppers in the past, Martz is thrilled to have the 6-7, 283-pound defensive end on his team. In a 2003 NFC divisional playoff game, Peppers registered four tackles and one sack in helping the Carolina Panthers defeat Martz’s Rams 29-23 in double-overtime.

“You always have to be aware of where he is,” Martz said. “When you game plan there are very few players on defense anymore that you have to say, ‘We’ve got to know where this guy is all the time, both in the running game and the passing game.’ But he is one of those guys.

“To have him on our team means that we’re going to get at least one and maybe two more possessions a game. That’s huge, having one player that could mean one more full possession a game for you. He will help us on our side of the ball because we’ll get more possessions and he’ll put us in better positions.”