Chicago Bears rookie third-round wide receiver Zavion Thomas could emerge as "a valuable gadget player on offense" in Chicago in his first year in the NFL while also contributing his 4.28-second 40-yard-dash speed as a returner on special teams, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Cronin questions whether head coach Ben Johnson has his next Jahmyr Gibbs, especially after the versatile speedster made plays during the offseason program and was labeled "electric" by teammates as he enters his first year in the league. The 21-year-old out of LSU obviously has big-play abilities because of his high-end speed, but in terms of playing time in his rookie season, that's going to be hard to come by with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond, and tight end Colston Loveland ahead of him on the depth chart. But if Thomas impresses as a gadget player early on, Johnson will surely manufacture more touches for him. For now, Thomas is merely a deep dynasty/keeper stash who will see most of his playing time on special teams
It might be time to rethink our expectations for veteran Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift heading into a critical 2026 campaign. Some of us (pointing squarely at myself here) have been skeptical of Swift’s upside in the Bears offense long-term, even after he experienced a monster turnaround last season when Ben Johnson, his former offensive coordinator in Detroit , took over as Chicago’s head coach. Both his absolute production (1,087 rushing yards and nine touchdowns) and his advanced metrics pointed to one of the most improved backs in the league from 2024 to 2025, with Johnson’s focus on the run game and overall offensive competence a big reason for the positive change. Turns out, Johnson thinks the 27-year-old back can still take things to another level this season—the final year of his current deal in Chicago. “He’s a dynamic player,” Johnson said, via the Bears’ website . “I’ve known that about him since he came into the league, firsthand up there in Detroit, and certainly last year I wasn’t surprised about the year he had. So, is he capable of more? Absolutely. He absolutely is. He’s a vital part of what we do here.” Swift hinted in an offseason presser that he agrees with his coach’s assessment, specifically noting that he feels he “ left some [plays] out there ” that could’ve helped him and the Bears offense have an even bigger year. He’s not wrong about that, as you could say for just about any player. But the important part is that Swift did far more good than bad for Chicago last year despite that being true. And the Bears, as currently constructed, no doubt have plans on using him a lot in 2026. Right now, even with Kyle Monangai returning and rookie Zavion Thomas potentially getting a carry or two here and there as a rookie, Swift is clearly the lead dog in that backfield and showed last year he can make the explosive plays Johnson loves out of this offense more consistently than anyone in the room. Unless we see a major trade for another vet, which feels unlikely given where the Bears are cap-wise, that’s not going to change. Swift will continue to carry the majority of the load both in the run and pass game, with Monangai serving as the change-of-pace thunder to his lightning. While the Bears’ championship aspirations depend significantly on the growth of Caleb Williams and the passing game in the star quarterback’s third year, Chicago’s run game will set the tone for this offense as long as Johnson remains head coach. And Swift, for the time being, is the head of the snake in that regard. Unlike last year, that actually feels like a strength heading into the season
A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai recorded 947 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns on 187 touches across 17 games as a rookie. Monangai entered the season firmly behind veteran Bears back D'Andre Swift on the depth chart, but Monangai worked his way into a more even playing time split by the end of the season. From Week 12 through the end of the regular season, neither Bears running back played more than 59% or fewer than 41% of the team's offensive snaps. In 2026, both backs will likely play significant roles in what should be a very strong Bears running game. However, Swift will be a free agent at season's end and may not be in Chicago's long-term plans. Given his production as a rookie and his pathway to RB1 duties in Chicago, Monangai profiles as a clear dynasty buy ahead of 2026
As we move forward with our training camp battle series, we move to the offensive side of the ball, where we have an interesting development at running back. We know what the top of the Bears running back room is going to look like. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai are going to be splitting the carries. As long as the two of them remain healthy, there will be very little room for any other running backs to get any carries on this offense. But we are all football fans; we understand the running back position. It carries a physical pounding, and running backs are constantly getting nicked up. Swift has stayed relatively healthy throughout his career, but he’s only had one season out of six in which he played in every game. Who will be the running back looking to fill the gap if Swift or Monangai goes down? That’s anybody’s guess. If you had asked me that question a year ago, I would have said Roschon Johnson without hesitation. But that doesn’t necessarily seem like the right answer. Johnson’s career has largely derailed. After a solid rookie campaign where Johnson had over 500 yards from scrimmage and averaged about 5 yards a touch, in his second season, he became a short-yardage back, averaging less than 3 yards a carry. Last season, he had a hard time staying healthy. He did manage to play seven games, but that was largely on special teams. In those seven games in Ben Johnson’s offense, Roschon had just two carries for the entire season. The running back with the third most carries on the team happened to be Brittain Brown (with a whopping five). Those five carries are all of Brown’s career regular-season NFL carries. Some of you might be saying, sure, but he’s young; he has a chance to get more opportunities this year. What if I told you Brittain Brown turns 29 years old this October? Brown spent six years in college, and then largely spent three years on the Raiders and Seahawks practice squads before coming over to the Bears last year. Brown may be a decent backup this year, but he’s not a prospect. In fact, he’s more than three years older than Roschon Johnson. The biggest surprise, in my eyes, about this training camp battle is that these are the only two running backs involved in the training camp battle. I fully expected the Bears to sign a cheap veteran running back into the room this past offseason, but they chose not to do it. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting anything flashy, but I was expecting a vet-minimum type signing or a one-year, $2 million signing as they did with D’Onta Foreman a few years ago. But Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles chose to roll with the guys they have. Clearly, they expect Swift and Monangai to get 95% of the running back carries, and that there was just no need for any money to be invested into an RB3, but if one of them gets hurt, in my eyes, neither back has the makeup to go out there and give the Bears 25 rushing attempts per game for 3 or 4 consecutive games. The RB3 competition consists of a career practice squad player against a fourth-round pick entering the final year of his contract, who appears to have fallen out of favor with this coaching staff. There’s a good chance the Bears only keep three running backs on the 53-man roster. Johnson does contribute quite a bit on special teams, but also appears to offer very little offensively in Ben Johnson’s eyes. Brown offers far less on special teams. Brown had just 17 special teams snaps in his three games. Johnson had 102 in seven. How does this one play out? I think Johnson makes the 53-man roster as a special teams player and only plays running back if the team is forced to use him there. I expect Brown to safely slide to the practice squad. If there’s an injury to Swift or Monangai and they are forced to miss a game or more, I expect the Bears to elevate Brown to the 53-man roster as the team’s RB2, and Brown would get the carries over Johnson. So while I think Johnson earns the roster spot, I think Brown wins the compet
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With about four weeks until Detroit Lions training camp, it’s time to take inventory not just of the team’s roster, but of their biggest rivals. So on this week’s PODcast, we started comparing the Lions’ roster with those of the other NFC North teams. Can the Lions climb back atop the division and earn their third NFC North crown in four years? Well, let’s compare the roster. On this episode, we kick things off with most of the skill-position players. The PODcast crew ranks each team’s quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receiver groups, all individually. Starting with quarterback, there’s a lot of contention. While it’s pretty easy to slot the Vikings at fourth with their quarterback situation in flux, Chicago ’s Caleb Williams and the advanced-statistic darling Jordan Love appear to be gaining ground on Jared Goff. Many will tell you a guy like Love has already surpassed Goff. Is that true? Our crew debates. When it comes to running back, Jahmyr Gibbs is the clear top option in the division. However, is Chicago’s one-two punch of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai more valuable? Does Detroit’s lack of proven depth pull them out of the top spot? And how screwed are the Packers if Josh Jacobs —the consensus No. 2 back in the division—faces any legal consequences from his offseason arrest? At wide receiver, there’s a ton of youth and promise across the entire NFC North, but there are two clear front-runners for the top spot. We have our most contentious debate of the podcast comparing the Lions’ and Vikings’ receiver groups. All of those conversations kick off in the second segment of the show—around the 42:20 mark of the episode. The first segment is devoted to the latest Lions news—all surrounding some recent lists. Is Jack Campbell too low (#88) on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list ? Is Jahmyr Gibbs the No. 2 back in the NFL ? Does Detroit really have the sixth-best roster in the league ? All of those questions are answered in the first half of the show. You can catch the entire episode using whatever podcasting platform you prefer by searching “Pride of Detroit .” Or, for your convenience, you can just listen using the Spotify embed below. You can also catch the video version of the PODcast on YouTube and Twitch . While you’re listening, share your NFC North team rankings for quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers in the comment section below
Aside from the edge position, there’s one spot on the Chicago Bears roster that, honestly, could’ve used a slight upgrade: running back. Yes, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai were among the best running back duos in the NFL last year, and Swift had a career year in 2025 after struggling in his first Bears season under Ben Johnson, racking up 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns. But it’s hard not to wonder if Johnson, who once drafted one of the most dynamic running backs in the league No. 12 overall in Jahmyr Gibbs , wants a little more juice in his running back room going forward. The Bears opted not to make a splash at that position in the 2026 NFL Draft aside from taking a flyer on a multidimensional threat in Zavion Thomas, who might some backfield touches, which suggests they might be content to keep that group more or less the same this year. But if they want to make a splash, ESPN’s Ben Solak has a bold move for Johnson, Ryan Poles, and the Bears: trading for star Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. “Taylor is approaching the last year on his deal, so the Colts will need to decide if they want to give the 27-year-old a big third contract,” Solak explained. “…If the Colts come out of the gates slow and consider an organizational change midseason, then Taylor surely would draw trade interest. His start to 2025 proved he still has ‘best RB in the league’ potential left in his legs, especially if his total touches are more carefully managed. A playoff-aspiring team that has viable change-of-pace backs but no dominant starter would love to grab Taylor for a one-year rental. Should he perform well, that team could give him that two-year, pay-as-we-go extension that running backs often get with their third contract. “The Bears make perfect sense. D’Andre Swift had a strong 2025 season, but he has not been reliable and has dealt with injuries for much of his career. Kyle Monangai is a likable thumper but not for more than 10 or so carries per game. If the Bears’ offense coalesces into a top-five unit — certainly possible given how they finished the 2025 season — the team might be fishing at the deadline for a field-tipping running back to give it an additional edge. Chicago’s rushing attack led the league in success rate last season, thanks in large part to great line play and excellent scheming from coach Ben Johnson. Now imagine that group with a home run hitter like Taylor breaking into the second level.” Now, before we get too excited, let’s think realistically about the Bears and their roster decisions. Poles has often hunted for value and bargains rather than taking swings just for the sake of it. Taylor, while awesome, is a luxury more than a need, and the Bears have to be wary of their salary cap situation, especially as massive extensions loom for key young players like quarterback Caleb Williams . What’s more: it might make more sense to keep that money in the tuck in case the Bears find a defensive player—particularly a defensive front guy—that can help that side of the ball more this year. But man…wouldn’t that be fun? The idea of Taylor behind a solid, road-grating offensive line lighting up opposing defenses for massive chunk plays while softening teams up for Williams and the young pass-catching corps of Colston Loveland , Rome Odunze , and Luther Burden III to gash them over the top. (Plus, Taylor is a threat as a pass-catcher, too.) Given the way the Bears proved they want to play in the colder months—dominating teams by controlling the line of scrimmage—adding Taylor would be a monster addition if the Bears could pull it off without giving up too much. That last part is the key. With Taylor approaching his late 20s and racking up the miles on his body, it’s conceivable the Bears could get away with giving up an early Day 3 pick—call it a fourth-rounder—to acquire his services. Anything more than that probably has to be a “no” from Chicago’s side. Here’s the thing: if the Bears are really tr
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A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai recorded 947 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns on 187 touches across 17 games. Monangai split backfield work with Bears veteran D'Andre Swift in 2025, and both backs remain on Chicago's roster entering 2026. While Swift's presence could continue to limit Monangai's workload ceiling, Monangai profiles as the more physical downhill rusher of the two and may take on a larger early-down and goal-line role in his second NFL season. Even if the Bears continue to operate with a backfield split in the short term, 2026 is Swift's final season under contract with Chicago. If the competition between the two backs is close, it would not be surprising to see the Bears' coaching staff push more onto the plate of Monangai. Given Monangai's status as an up-and-coming back in a strong Chicago running game, he may be undervalued by redraft ADP as the RB33
Monangai remains positioned for a key complementary role behind D'Andre Swift as training camp approaches, Mike Moraitis of SI.com reports. Monangai impressed out of the gate as a rookie seventh-round pick in 2025, beating out Roschon Johnson for the No. 2 running back role and carving out a steady workload alongside Swift. He finished with 783 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 169 carries while adding 18 catches for 164 yards across 17 regular-season games. Though he lacks Swift's explosiveness and receiving ability, Monangai is a natural runner who fits Ben Johnson's scheme well. He would inherit a valuable workload if Swift were to miss any time in 2026
The 2026 season will mark Ryan Poles’ fifth season as general manager of the Chicago Bears . Things are trending in the right direction for his regime, seeing as though the Bears won the NFC North last year and won their first playoff game since the 2010-11 season. It took a little while for things to get rolling, but Poles has the Bears trending in the right direction heading into 2026. It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, as I highlighted when ranking his five worst moves as the team’s general manager. However, in order to get his team into the playoffs and winning double-digit games, you clearly have to have done some things right. After shining light on the bad, let’s do the same with the good. These are Ryan Poles’ five best moves as the general manager of the Bears. Drafting Luther Burden III in Round 2 Drafting Kyle Monangai in Round 7 Surprising everyone by taking Colston Loveland in Round 1 I’ve put three of the Bears’ 2025 draft picks into the honorable mentions list because the players are all so early in their NFL careers. However, their draft haul looks to have strengthened an already strong offensive foundation on their roster, and that’s not even including the encouraging flashes Ozzy Trapilo showed at left tackle before he got hurt. Luther Burden III is an elite YAC threat who was incredibly efficient last year, to the tune of his ranking No. 11 in the NFL in PFN WR Impact Scoring . Colston Loveland ranked No. 6 in their corresponding metric for tight ends , working the seam and stretching the field much better than the average tight end, especially among rookies. Kyle Monangai also proved to be a tough, tenacious runner who served as a stellar complement to D’Andre Swift. All three selections have aged incredibly well thus far and could certainly move up these rankings in due time. This isn’t one specific move as much as it is an overarching theme in Poles’ tenure as the Bears’ general manager. When he took over in the role, his predecessor Ryan Pace left the Bears in the bottom 10 in cap space. With an aging roster that clearly wasn’t going to compete, Poles inherited several bad contracts, releasing several overpaid veterans and trading others who still had trade value. In his first year as general manager, Chicago led the NFL with over $93 million in dead cap . Some of that dead cap carried over to 2023, but in each of the last three offseasons, the Bears have had a tremendous lack of dead cap space compared to what Poles inherited early on. They ranked 26th in dead cap in 2024, 32nd in 2025, and 22nd in 2026. The DJ Moore trade is eating most of that dead cap this year, and there will be no dead cap on him or any other 53-man rosterable player in 2027, as of this writing. That’s a testament to how well Poles and his regime have managed their finances. The Bears traded for Joe Thuney last offseason when he was already 32 years old, so they went into their trade with the Chiefs knowing the move would likely be a short-term one. That said, coming off a 2024 season in which Chicago had significantly struggled to keep Caleb Williams upright in his rookie year, they desperately needed stability along their offensive line. To say that Thuney gave them stability at left guard would be an understatement. He was outright dominant in 2025, earning the inaugural Protector of the Year award in 2025, along with first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition. His presence helped give Williams a much more clean pocket than what he had in Year 1, and Thuney’s consistency in their run to the playoffs made him such a valuable asset. Though the Bears lost the game, his ability to kick outside at left tackle and perform well in their Divisional Round game against the Rams was admirable, too. To our readers who aren’t as active on social media, I’ll simply say that you made the right decision in the late winer and early spring of 2024. The Bears Twitter Civil War was the most divided I’ve ever seen this fanbase. I
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The Chicago Bears are being described as the coolest team in franchise history since the 1985 Super Bowl squad. This newfound 'coolness' is attributed to quarterback Caleb Williams, who has garnered significant attention, including a Madden cover appearance, and head coach Matt Eberflus, known for his aggressive approach. Key players like Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland, and Kyle Monangai are also highlighted for their exciting play styles
Speaking with the media Thursday, coach Ben Johnson said he's "buying Burden stock right now" after a strong start to the Bears' offseason program, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update
May is here, and spring is in the air. For most dynasty leagues, that means it’s “Rookie Draft SZN.” Here are some veteran players with what could be fast-approaching expiration dates. Sell these guys now, before their value, in some cases waning already, tanks completely. PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out . Ricky Pearsall currently has a clear runway to an absolute, well, shit-ton of volume in 2026. More than likely, he still has some cachet among your league mates due to his first-round draft capital. Adding to the hype are his ties to offensive wiz Kyle Shanahan and apparent franchise quarterback, Brock Purdy. Looks like another week of no Ricky Pearsall. Disappointing because he looked good when healthy. https://t.co/fA1Le4w9Q9 pic.twitter.com/9QEm6d1ogK — Dynasty FF Wolf (@DynastyFFWolf) October 30, 2025 Here’s the thing, though, Pearsall has yet to play anything close to a full season. He missed the first six weeks of his rookie season in 2024 after suffering a gunshot wound in August. Then, last year, he endured separate knee and ankle injuries, causing him to miss another eleven games. The former Florida Gator’s aforementioned value will evaporate should he sustain another injury. Given the perceived opportunity share coming his way this year, managers could be clamoring to get a piece of the Shanahan offense. D’Andre Swift had a bit of a renaissance last year. He finished as the RB16 on a points-per-game basis, averaging a healthy 4.9 yards per carry on 223 totes. Unforeseen, however, was the emergence of seventh-round selection Kyle Monangai. Monangai averaged 4.6 yards per carry while earning a 41.5% Opportunity Share . Furthermore, as the Chicago offense continues to evolve under head coach Ben Johnson, the passing game will become increasingly more prevalent. Furthermore, Swift is 27 years old. Now is the time to see if you can’t squeeze some value out of him. Unlike A.J. Brown, this “new face, new place” player, D.J. Moore, is officially on his new team. In 2025, the former Terp saw his lowest output in targets, receptions, and yards since his rookie year. While it isn’t certain exactly what led to this decrease in production, it became evident that he was expendable in Chicago. Now in Buffalo, Moore is primed to be quarterback Josh Allen’s No. 1 target. The value spike for Moore stemming from his attachment to Allen presents the perfect time to cash out on the nearly 30-year-old wideout. Allen needed a vertical separator who can work well on lvl 3. And he gets……a 29 year old DJ Moore who works best with manufactured targets & touches. https://t.co/6Bf48xOgWP — AngeloFF (@angelo_fantasy) March 5, 2026 Over the course of his career, Moore has been an inconsistent fantasy asset. In his best statistical season, 2023, he still posted five single-digit fantasy performances and three more at just over 10 points. Take advantage of Moore’s perceived value now, before the Bills’ run-heavy offense and his own inconsistencies bring it back down. Josh Downs had career lows across the stat sheet last year, aside from touchdowns, of which he had four. However, Michael Pittman’s departure has many gamers believing that Downs is in line for a massive uptick in target share. While this is, of course, in the range of outcomes, the much more likely scenario is that Downs will be the third, if not fourth, option in this offense. Downs has been a fantasy darling since entering the league in 2023, but he has yet to reach anything close to his ceiling. Get out now, before it becomes apparent he won’t reach it this year either. Chuba Hubbard has served the Panthers well since being thrust into a starting role back in 2023. But last year, he ceded lots of work to Rico Dowdle, who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Dowdle now gone, you may [... truncated ...]
Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai finished his rookie season as the fantasy RB30, and his situation appears stable heading into Year 2. The 2025 seventh-round pick got off to a predictably slow start and spent most of the season in a change-of-pace role behind D'Andre Swift, but he flashed moments of fantasy dominance that could show up with more regularity in his second season. From Weeks 7 through 13, which included a Week 9 contest missed by Swift and in which Monangai ran for 176 yards, the rookie was the RB11, scoring five touchdowns over that stretch. The Bears made no changes to the position through either free agency or the draft, suggesting a comfort level with how things went last season. Monangai's ceiling will be limited as long as Swift is in the lineup, but he has already provided glimpses of what he can do with a full workload, and he saw more usage in the passing game down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. If that trend continues, RotoBaller's dynasty RB28 could add standalone value beyond what he offers as an insurance back
