Ben Johnson’s innovation will be needed to cover for the concerns at running back

The Chicago Bears are in the process of finalizing their regular season roster before Tuesday’s deadline, as there are questions on which players will make the team. One of the more concerning positions for the Bears, especially with head coach Ben Johnson’s offensive vision, is the running back position. Throughout the offseason, training camp, and the preseason, the running backs have been a concern due to a lack of meaningful additions and now questions pertaining to talent, along with injuries.

Ben Johnson will need to be creative when it comes to the rushing offense

As of right now, the running backs likely to make the final roster will be D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, and Travis Homer, as other halfbacks such as Ian Wheeler and Royce Freeman have already been cut from the roster. The concern for Ben Johnson and installing his new offense is the need for quality ball-carries and the team’s top three backs either are currently injured or played very sparingly during the preseason. For Johnson, having effective and credible running backs for the rushing offense, is needed due to the passing offense’s reliance on play-action designs.

Even with Swift, Johnson, and Monangai healthy, there were still concerns with the rushing offense, as Chicago’s roster lacks a true universal ball-carrier for Ben Johnson’s new offensive scheme. With Swift, he is a reliable pass-catching back and really talented on outside rushing attempts while Roschon is a good in-between-the-tackles halfback yet lacks any speed to break a significant run. Although Monangai showed promised during the Bears’ preseason game against the Dolphins, he is a seventh-round rookie who is inexperienced and could struggle with adjusting to the NFL.

Without a credible rushing attempt from the running backs it could force Ben Johnson, especially at the start of the 2025 season, to have to get creative to legitimately move the ball on the ground. Although Johnson has a history of being creative when running the ball during his time as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions, doing it with new offensive personnel could be vastly different.  Especially with how heavy the passing plays will need the rushing plays to help be set up, Chicago’s offense needs to have a healthy balance when running the ball to avoid having opposing defenses intensely game-planning on taking away the pass.

The creativity will come by the way of utilizing the wide receivers and Caleb Williams on untraditional running plays, which has already been seen by Ben Johnson. During the preseason, Johnson had top receiver, DJ Moore, lined up in the backfield and taking traditional handoffs in goal-line situations. In the team’s final preseason game against the Chiefs, Chicago’s head coach called a naked boot-leg run for Williams, which resulted in a gain of 18 yards and a first down.

During his time in Detroit, Ben Johnson developed a strong trait for relying on trick-plays, which included running the ball with wide receivers. If Swift, Johnson, or Monangai struggle with production or injuries, there is a good chance that fans and media see play designs where Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, or Moore are getting handoffs. Johnson will need to have a threat of a rushing attack to have any hope of his passing offense being ran to utmost efficiency.

Ben Johnson was not aided by Ryan Poles during the offseason when it came to adding adequate personnel

With a potential reliance on running the ball with the team’s starting quarterback and wide receivers, it will also emphasis general manager Ryan Poles’ failure this offseason to better equip Ben Johnson with the proper personnel. Heading into the 2025 offseason, there were legitimate concerns about the running back position for Poles, which fans and the media believed would be addressed with a prominent acquisition following the hiring of Johnson. Despite having several high round draft selections and a healthy amount of cap space, Monangai was the only offseason addition made to the team at the running back position.

Addressing the running back position appeared to be a desire of both Johnson and Poles during the 2025 NFL Draft, given the fact that they traded down immediately following selections where running backs were taken before Chicago was on the clock. In the second round after half back Trevyon Henderson was taken by the New England Patriots, the Bears selected Burden 39th and then traded the 41st pick to Buffalo instead of taking a ball-carrier. Chicago would trade back again in the fourth round when the Giants selected Cam Skattebo four spots beforehand.

When Ben Johnson was in Detroit, he was fortunate to have to running backs that were dual-threats and could be used in any type of run design as he had David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. During Johnson’s three and a half year tenure as offensive coordinator with the Lions, both Gibbs and Montgomery were able to rush for 1,000 yards individually. Despite seeing the need for a universal ball-carrier for his new head coach’s offensive scheme, Poles did little to address the concern this offseason.

With the 2025 regular season now two weeks away, the running back position and the rushing offense as a whole will be a lingering concern for Ben Johnson. The Bears’ new head coach will need to be innovative out of necessity when it comes to running the ball due to the current injuries and talent issues plaguing the halfback position. Although the issue may resolve itself as the regular season progresses with a back stepping up or a trade being made to bring another ball-carrier in, it will likely be up to Johnson to scheme Chicago’s running offense into an effective level of production.