The Chicago Bears are heading into a pivotal season with running back D’Andre Swift, who is in the final year of his contract.
Swift’s tenure has been a rollercoaster. He arrived and posted the second-most rushing yards of his career. A career-low in yards per rushing attempt tainted the effort, though. This past season, he set a new career-high, relegating his 2024 effort to third place.
Despite the uncertainty about his future, Swift remains in discussion among the NFL’s top RBs.
D’Andre Swift Draws Attention Before Bears Training Camp
Bears’ D’Andre Swift Receives Votes for Top-10 RB
Swift, who turned 27 in January, failed to crack the top 10 list as voted on by unnamed executives, coaches, and scouts in a poll for ESPN that was published on July 6, but the Bears’ star did land among those “also receiving votes.”
The Bears’ RB1 finished 12th with 1,087 rushing yards, and he was 13th among RBs in total yards from scrimmage with his 34-299-1 line tacked on.
His ranking seems fair, especially when there could be a shift in the Bears’ backfield in 2026.
2025 seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai emerged as a reliable option behind Swift as a rookie, tallying 783 yards and 5 TDs on 169 totes. That could embolden Bears head coach Ben Johnson to entrust the second-year runner with a greater workload this coming season.
Monangai really caught fire for the Bears from Week 7 through Week 15. The Bears went 7-2 during that stretch.
He was relatively quiet before and after that, and the Bears went 4-4 in those contests.
Monangai is not the receiving threat that Swift is, though he is no slouch. Still, that should be an area where the veteran maintains a clear edge. However, neither back is the only challenge that the other will face this season.
Bears Get Encouraging Feedback About ‘Biggest Strength’
Swift and Monangai will take away from each other, that much is a given, so long as the Bears roster both and they are healthy. But their effectiveness could also be impacted by the Bears’ offensive line.
ESPN’s Mike Clay still called the group the Bears’ “biggest strength.”
He cited the returning members of the group and the instantaneous success the Bears had after working to improve the group.
“After allowing a league-high 68 sacks in 2024, Chicago overhauled its offensive line during the 2025 offseason,” Clay wrote on July 6. “It certainly paid off, as the Bears led the NFL in pass block win rate (73.6%) and finished fifth in run block win rate (73.5%) last season.”
However, Clay’s assessment was based largely on the results of last year’s group.
Bears Made Big Changes Up Front
This offseason, Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman retired. That forced the Bears to find a replacement. They found two possible candidates, trading for veteran Garrett Bradbury and drafting Logan Jones.
Obviously, neither is proven in the Bears’ offense. Dalman was not, either, at this point last year, which is a reason to have patience. That is not the only uncertainty the Bears face up front, though. They are also navigating questions at left tackle.
Braxton Jones led the way during the offseason program ahead of free agent flier Jedrick Wills, with last year’s end-of-season starter Ozzy Trapilo expected to miss most, if not all, of 2026.
Jones lost his starting job to Trapilo last season and even played behind Theo Benedet.
Benedet moved back to the right side this offseason. That underscores just how much the Bears were trying to make do with what they had in 2025. It also adds valuable context to the uncertainty for the Bears at the two most critical positions along the offensive line and for Swift.
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