All good running backs grow up thinking they can outrun everyone. They’re usually right — until they reach the NFL.
Enter D’Andre Swift, the running back who frustrated the Bears last season by his insisting he could hit a home run on every carry. It made him markedly worse than even an average rusher — per NFL Next Gen Stats, Swift had -174 rushing yards over expectation last year, the worst mark by any NFL running back over the past five seasons.
The Bears looked for a replacement— or at least a partner — for Swift this offseason. When they couldn’t find one, they doubled down on changing the way he runs.
“At this level there’s always somebody that’s faster than you. …” said running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who was hired in January. “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and sometimes that straight line is the quickest way to get to the goal line.”
Or at least 4 ½ yards. That’s the very least the Bears want to average per carry.
“Find 4 ½,” Bieniemy said. “Anything after that is a bonus. And don’t be surprised if you come out the [back] end of it if you hit it hard enough.”
Head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams have a lot to prove in the Bears’ season opener Monday night against the Vikings. So does Swift, who struggled in the first year of his three-year, $24 million deal with the Bears. He averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, prompting the Bears to consider drafting a running back in Round 2. When the Patriots took Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson one spot ahead of the Bears in Round 2, they pivoted, eventually taking Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai in Round 7.
Bieniemy, the former Chiefs and Commanders offensive coordinator, spent the offseason drilling into Swift an efficient path through the hole — and a physical presence once he gets into it. Bieniemy smiles when he tells his rushers to go “meet a few people.”
How does Swift do that?
“With your presence,” the running back said this week. “With your mentality. It’s how you approach the game, how you approach every single play. Every play is different. “
It’s worth wondering how long Swift can wear an opponent down. He averaged 14.9 rushes per game last season. It was a season-high — but also only the 15th most in the NFL.
Monangai, the second-leading rusher in Rutgers history, appears to be the only viable backup. He’ll play Monday after recovering from a hamstring injury.
“I trust that guy at this point,” head coach Ben Johnson said.
It’s a rare statement of confidence in a rookie. But he doesn’t have many other options.
Roschon Johnson returned to practice Saturday after missing more than a month with a foot injury. He’s questionable to play, and it would be surprising if he did. Brittain Brown is on the practice squad but could be promoted before kickoff.
Swift isn’t just competing with his backups for carries, though. One of the biggest sources of Johnson’s stress each week is deciding who’s going to get the ball when he designs plays. On the Bears, he has receivers and tight ends he wants to ensure are involved in the passing attack.
“That’s the competition we have each and every week — where is the ball going to go? …” he said. “We have no shortage of playmakers. That’s really, in short, why we feel really good about not just the running back room but the whole stable on offense.”
Swift, though, is one of their few options when it comes to plunging forward on third-and-short. That’s why the Bears were so pleased in the final preseason game when he did just that. On third-and-1, he ran for two yards.
“He found a way to move the chains …” Bieniemy said. “Every play does not have to be a home run.”