The Chicago Bears really liked Roschon Johnson coming out of Texas. While he was never the primary running back for Texas in college, most felt that was due to sharing the backfield with eventual top-five pick Bijan Robinson. Johnson had the size, toughness, and strength of somebody who could carve out a solid career in the NFL. Yet the Bears haven't been willing to give him real opportunities for the past two years. First, it was sharing the backfield with Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman as a rookie. Then last year, he was relegated to short-yardage back with D'Andre Swift getting most of the carries.
This offseason, most of the attention has been on rookie 7th round pick Kyle Monangai and whether he and Swift can form a quality duo. Johnson has been all but forgotten in the shuffle. That may have been a miscalculation. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, there is a legitimate buzz through the first few training camp practices. While Monangai continues to show flashes, it has been Johnson who continues to stand out. He looks like a completely different player from what he was last year.
Meanwhile, at running back, D’Andre Swift returns with experience in Johnson’s offense from Detroit. But Roschon Johnson, a 2023 fourth-round pick, has started to look more like the player the Bears evaluated coming out of Texas. And rookie seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai has been a revelation, already showing vision, feel and strength better than expected, to pair with the contact balance that was there on the college tape.
Roschon Johnson has only ever asked for an opportunity.
The guy does everything asked of him without complaint. His blocking was a reason the protection last year wasn't even worse than it was. He scored eight touchdowns as a short-yardage back, giving the Bears some actual reliability on an offense that had none. Head coach Ben Johnson, arriving with his proven running scheme, figured to unlock things he's never enjoyed since joining the Bears. By all accounts, it has unfolded exactly as hoped. Roschon Johnson is finally starting to resemble the player many envisioned him to be when Chicago drafted him. It is becoming easier to understand why the Bears don't seem overly interested in adding to the running back position.
