One of the biggest questions about the Chicago Bears heading into the 2025 season is how they will approach the run game.
Bears HC Ben Johnson has made it clear that the run game has equal priority in his offense. Last season in Detroit, Ben called runs on 49.2% of snaps. The Lions averaged 149 rushing yards per game, making up 36% of total yards.
His strong commitment to the run game has many benefits:
The Bears head into the season with four projected RBs on their 53-man roster: Swift, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer and rookie Kyle Monangai.
While some have argued that the Bears should trade for a RB to upgrade the room, I don't believe they will. Ben will look to optimize the combination of RBs by playing each to their highest and best use. A concept we saw too little of in the Bears' offense last season.
So what does that mean for Swift, who carried the ball on 59% of running snaps for an underwhelming 3.8 yards per carry in 2024?
Unlike his production in Philadelphia with their top offensive line in 2023, Swift struggled behind the Bears' 15th-ranked run blocking last season. He ran for 959 yards, but the 253 attempts to achieve that was inefficient. While he certainly wasn't helped by the poor play calling, his advanced statistics were also concerning.
Where Swift ranked in some advanced rushing stats last year
— Bears Blog Boy (@TommyK_NFLDraft) April 27, 2025
- Last in rushing yards over expected per attempt (-1.69!!!!!)
- 48th of 50 in yards after contact per attempt
- 41/50 in PFF rushing grade
- 44/50 in the elusive rating https://t.co/4AlcQSSLe5
Part of this stemmed from Swift being misused as if he were a bell cow back.
Certainly, the significantly upgraded Bears' interior offensive line will improve the run blocking this season. However, even behind the Eagles and Lions' top run blocking, Swift's challenges above remained.
Swift is at his best when he can weave through defenders in more open space with runway. He has the ability to rip off explosive breakaway runs, like the one below.
The #Bears posted this D’Andre Swift TD run from last year on their socials today
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) June 30, 2025
I remember watching this live and my jaw dropping when Braxton Jones pancaked that dude in space. Great run blocking pic.twitter.com/rftXMKCOfi
However, the challenge is that Swift's breakaway runs (15+ yards) are too few and far between. Johnson saw this in Detroit in 2022, where over 40% of his 549 yards came from just eight breakaway runs of his 99 carries. In 2024, their frequency on a percentage basis was even lower, with only 9 breakaway runs on 253 carries with the Bears.
That's a big reason why Ben limited Swift's carries to seven per game in 2022 and, at the same time, increased his pass-catching targets. The goal was to get him running in space more frequently for bigger gain opportunities.
This resulted in Swift having his career-best 5.5 yards per carry under Ben Johnson while also averaging 8.1 yards per reception in 2022. Johnson then shifted the bulk of the carries over to Lions RB Jamaal Williams.
Remember that D’Andre Swift averaged FIVE targets per game under Ben Johnson in 2022.
— Brian Drake (@DrakeFantasy) June 16, 2025
Only two RBs topped that number last season. pic.twitter.com/5BMxlD7cUc
Given this, Johnson will likely follow a similar usage pattern with Swift in 2025. I'd expect Ben Johnson will split the primary RB running workload carries between Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai, with the ratio for each determined at camp.
What might be reduced from 2022 is the number of targets Swift will receive this season. With so many capable pass catchers to feed on the Bears, Swift will need to earn his share of targets.
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