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Chicago Bears RB D'Andre Swift praises rookie teammate competing for his carries

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 12:32 AM ET

By all accounts, Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift is off to a great start at training camp.

He's put his exceptional burst and athleticism on display over the first two days of practice. He's been described as a player who appears to be on a mission in 2025 after failing to live up to expectations in 2024.

You know the story by now. Swift was signed by the Bears last offseason to a lucrative three-year, $24 million contract. He was expected to be a field-flipping three-down running back who took the ground game to another level.

Instead, Swift finished his first season with the Chicago Bears with less than 1,000 yards and the worst yards-per-carry average of his career (3.8).

As a result, the 2025 offseason chatter focused on potential upgrades at running back, with the 2025 NFL Draft and the early-round talent that was in it being the preferred option.

But general manager Ryan Poles went in a different direction. He didn't add any big-name competition at running back. In fact, the running back room looks almost exactly the same as it did last year, with the exception of one player: seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai.

And it's Monangai who's beginning to turn heads at training camp. He even caught D'Andre Swift's attention. So much so that Swift offered the first-year pro a healthy amount of praise after practice on Thursday.

"Great addition. He don’t really lack anything from what I’m seeing," Swift said of Monangai. "Confident in his style of play, real low to the ground, great catching the ball out of the backfield. Solid, real solid."

Indeed, Monangai has a long way to go before he can be a real threat to Swift's workload, but if he continues to stack good days like he had on Thursday, he'll certainly close the gap.

The Chicago Bears' depth chart at running back will likely begin with Swift as the RB1 and Roschon Johnson serving as the primary power back in the RB2 role. Monangai should start the 2025 season as the RB3, but there's a direct path to early-down carries if he continues to impress.

For now, Swift is impressed. But it might not be long before he's threatened.