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Encouraging player comparison fuels optimism for Bears' Roschon Johnson

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 11:12 AM ET

When the Chicago Bears selected running back Roschon Johnson in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft, he was greeted by remarkable fanfare and a pretty surprising outlook inside Halas Hall.

Johnson was described as a potential pilar of the Bears' offense, a shocking suggestion for a Day 3 pick.

There was good reason for the excitement that surrounded the former Texas Longhorn. He was considered one of the strongest between-the-tackles runners in his draft class, and but for being blocked in the lineup by Bijan Robinson during his time at Texas, likely would've had a much higher pre-draft ranking among running backs in the 2023 class.

Unfortunately, Johnson has yet to make good on that upside. He finished his rookie season with 81 carries for 352 yards and two touchdowns and regressed to just 55 carries for 150 yards and six touchdowns. He's dealt with nagging injuries over his first two seasons that always seemed to derail his momentum, and Shane Waldron's misuse of him early in 2024 didn't help either.

Johnson, like all Bears skill players, will get a fresh start under coach Ben Johnson in 2025. He'll also benefit from running behind a revamped interior offensive line, one that should play to his strengths. As a result, he was recently dubbed a potential massive steal in fantasy football this season who could push for 200 carries and serve in the 'David Montgomery' role for Chicago's offense.

"Johnson could fit D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson into similar roles to those of Gibbs and Montgomery, respectively. If so, both running backs would have great fantasy value," Bleacher Report's Moe Moton wrote. "Gibbs was the RB1 and Montgomery finished as the RB18 in PPR leagues last season ... Still, Johnson could log more than 200 carries in a run-heavy offense like Montgomery did in 2023. The Lions tailback would have likely eclipsed 200 rushing attempts in 2024 if he hadn't missed the last three games."

Players thrive or fail for reasons beyond just their skill set. For Roschon Johnson, his struggles to take hold of the Bears' RB1 job has been more about the lack of opportunties than anything he's necessarily done wrong. He's been victimized by a poor offensive line, a big free-agent signing stealing carries, and a coaching staff that didn't know how to call plays.

Those issues -- which some would call excuses -- are gone in 2025. The running back depth chart will be based on merit, not salary. And if Johnson proves he's the best candidate to execute Ben Johnson's offense, he'll get his reps.

The rest will be up to him.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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