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ESPN predicts Chicago Bears will have a 1,000-yard running back in 2025

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated May 16, 2025 2:52 PM ET

Maybe the Chicago Bears don't have a running back problem after all.

At least, not according to ESPN's 2025 NFL projections.

According to Mike Clay, who annually publishes his predictions for every player on every team, Bears' running back D'Andre Swift will eclipse 1,000 rushing yards for the second time in his career this season.

Clay has Swift ending this season with 245 carries for 1,003 yards and eight touchdowns. It's a yardage total that would trail his career-best season by just 46 yards and equal the most single-season touchdowns he's managed through five seasons.

I get it, running for 1,000 yards is no longer what it used to be, especially not since the regular season expanded to 17 games. If Swift runs for 1,003 yards, he'd average 59 yards per game, not exactly what GM Ryan Poles was expecting when he signed him to a three-year, $24 million contract last offseason.

But it's still an improvement over last year's production, when he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns.

Clay's projection for Roschon Johnson is notable as well. He has the third-year back running for a career-high 420 yards on 103 carries (also a new career high), which means the combination of Swift and Johnson will equate to a 1,400-yard rushing attack from what the Bears hoped would be their version of thunder and lightning in 2024.

Where Clay misses the mark, however, is in rookie Kyle Monangai's season prediction. He has the former Rutgers star getting only 20 carries for 80 yards. While I certainly understand why a seventh-round pick wouldn't factor much in ESPN's projections right now, Chicago Bears fans know better.

Monangai will have a much bigger opportunity than 20 carries this season, and if he looks good early in the year, he could surpass Johnson as the clear RB2 -- or even RB1B -- by midseason.

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

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