Critical offensive skill position dubbed Chicago Bears' biggest remaining need

The Chicago Bears have done a remarkable job upgrading their roster this offseason. General manager Ryan Poles maximized the resources he had available to him, both in free agency and the NFL Draft, to put second-year quarterback Caleb Williams in the best possible position to succeed.

Whether it was the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach, the revamped interior offensive line, or the skill players selected in the early rounds, Poles' moves have been universally praised as steps forward for Chicago.

But if there's one position that remains a question mark, it's running back, where veteran D'Andre Swift will return as the unquestioned RB1. In fact, the only competition he'll face for his role is from 2023 fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson and this year's seventh-round selection, Kyle Monangai.

Johnson has underwhelmed through two seasons in the league, and Monangai, while possessing appealing traits, is tough to bet on as a late-round guy.

It's a bit of a gamble by Poles and the Bears' front office, but it doesn't seem like it was intentional. Chicago targeted Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, so much so that they attempted to trade up in Round 2 to land him. It didn't work out, and the ripple effect has left them entering the rest of the offseason workout program pretty much status quo in the running back room.

In a recent breakdown by Pro Football Focus of every NFL team's biggest need now that transaction season is behind us, running back ranked at the top for the Chicago Bears.

"The Bears have one of the best rosters on paper in the NFL," PFF's Trevor Sikkema wrote. "It’s truly “put up or shut up” time for that depth chart and front office.

"If Chicago is lacking in an area, it's running back. They have veteran D'Andre Swift, but his PFF rushing grade has steadily declined each season, bottoming out at 65.7 in 2024. Roschon Johnson has the highest PFF grades in the team's backfield, but his sample size is much smaller."

Swift has been the target of criticism for Bears fans this offseason, but as is the case with most of Chicago's offense in 2024, he deserves some slack. He, too, fell victim to a horrendous offensive line and an incompetent play-caller. Perhaps, with Ben Johnson in place and a top-tier interior offensive line, Swift will bounce back and prove he was worth the three-year, $24 million contract the Bears signed him to last offseason.

Let's face it, if Swift isn't that guy, and Johnson is the same player we've become accustomed to over the last couple of seasons, then the hope for a revved up Bears running game will rest with Monangai, which is an exceptional amount of pressure to place on a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers.

But this is where the state of the Chicago Bears' running game is right now. And it's up to the coaches and players to get it right.

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