National media outlet's pick for Bears' most underappreciated player could signal a potential roster move
As the offseason program rolls on leading up to the start of mandatory minicamp for all 32 teams in the league, everyone is looking for the hidden gems on the roster who could surprise everyone in 2024.Luckily for us, Tom Blair from NFL.com went through each roster and identified the most underappreciated player for all […]
As the offseason program rolls on leading up to the start of mandatory minicamp for all 32 teams in the league, everyone is looking for the hidden gems on the roster who could surprise everyone in 2024.
Luckily for us, Tom Blair from NFL.com went through each roster and identified the most underappreciated player for all 32 teams and provided analysis for each one.
When this piece was released, I was interested to see who Blair listed for the Chicago Bears, and his pick for the team left me with multiple takeaways.
Before we get into it, Blair's pick for the Bears' most underappreciated player on the roster heading into minicamp was second-year running back Roschon Johnson.
Going into Year 2 is when many running backs in the league truly break out and carve out a sizeable role for themselves on their respective offenses. However, that might not be the case for Johnson after the Bears went out in free agency and paid high dollar for dual-threat running back D'Andre Swift.
Swift's addition makes the Bears running back room even more competitive, but more so for the backup role behind Swift. And who even knows what the role will look like. Here's what Blair's analysis had to say about Johnson's expectations in 2024.
Johnson was probably appreciated at an appropriate level in 2023, when he was a fourth-round pick showing flashes for a stuck-in-the-mud offense, topping 50 scrimmage yards in five games and breaking off the occasional monster gain. That was before GM Ryan Poles supercharged the depth chart with attention-grabbing names like Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze and — most crucially for Johnson — D'Andre Swift. Don't forget about Johnson, though. For the first time in his career last season, Swift served as a clear-cut lead back for the Eagles, and while he played well, his production also sputtered toward the end of the year. Giving Johnson a healthy share of the workload seems like a good way to bring the young back further along while perhaps keeping Swift fresher longer. – NFL's Tom Blair
While Johnson showed some flashes in 2023, it was mainly a frustrating season for the entire backfield as previous offensive coordinator Luke Getsy inconsistently rotated between Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, and Johnson throughout the season.
That kind of rotation isn't what new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is known for considering the Seattle Seahawks only had two running backs that finished with more than 10 carries during the 2023 season.
It's clear that Swift will be the main focal point out of the backfield for the Bears' offense during the upcoming season and if Johnson can prove his flashes from 2023 were more than flashes, his role will only increase. But, it could also create some roster issues down the line at the position.
Will D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson's role force the team to trade Khalil Herbert?
The Bears drafting Johnson in the fourth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft and then giving Swift a massive deal in free agency isn't a good look for Herbert's future.
After being drafted in the sixth-round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Herbert was expected to finally emerge as the lead back in Chicago's previous run-heavy offense last season but finished with only 611 yards after missing five games in the middle of the season.
Now with a pass-oriented offense coming into town along with two other backs potentially ahead of him in the rotation, Herbert's days may be numbered if he fails to show out during the remainder of the offseason.
Herbert is on the final year of his rookie contract and is expected to hit free agency following the 2024 season. Since before the 2024 NFL Draft, Herbert's name has been floated around as a potential trade candidate with teams such as the Dallas Cowboys potentially interested in adding another back ahead of the season.
The only obstacle in the way is the fact that running back trades have been quiet since last June. In that span, only three running backs have been traded according to Spotrac: Joe Mixon, Pierre Strong Jr., and Cam Akers. While it's unlikely, it's certainly not off the table, especially if the Bears have enough confidence in Swift and Johnson to carry the load while hoping to get some value out of Herbert before his contract expires.
