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Ben Johnson Sets the Bar That Could Decide the Bears Backup Running Back Job

Salvon Ahmed, Brittain Brown and Coleman Bennett all scored Saturday, but coach Ben Johnson says pass protection may matter more for the backup job.
Gene Chamberlain|
Receiver Kaden Davis throws a block for running back Salvon Ahmed on a screen pass in the secoind half Saturday.
Receiver Kaden Davis throws a block for running back Salvon Ahmed on a screen pass in the secoind half Saturday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

There's more to winning a spot on this Bears roster for running backs than scoring a touchdown on a 49-yard screen pass against a struggling, rebuilding team or breaking off a 19-yard run.

Then again, maybe all of the other stuff is a bit overrated.

The TDs scored by Salvon Ahmed, Brittain Brown and Coleman Bennett Saturday, and Roschon Johnson's long Bears run of the day all were fun for the highlights, but preseason highlight plays often wind up as footnotes to a footnote once the season begins. The really important aspect of preseason games and big plays is making the roster.

The Bears have a real roster decision to make when it comes to how many and which running backs to keep beyond their starting two, provided Kyle Monangai really is all right as ESPN's Adam Schefter claimed after Sunday's knee injury scare at practice.

Coach Ben Johnson put forth what they're fighting for and the skillset he needs to see to determine winners.

"So, the battle for three, four, five, whatever that looks like, a lot comes down to special teams," Johnson said.

Three or four backs, tops

Keeping more than four running backs would seem very unlikely, and they may not even keep more than three. Last year's opening-day 53-man roster had D'Andre Swift, Monangai and Roschon Johnson.

They kept four in the last two years of the Matt Eberflus regime because they had this strange fascination with the pass blocking and special teams play of Travis Homer, who eventually finished three Bears seasons with only 18 total pass blocks thrown. For that, they kept a roster spot open when they could have used it for a young player who actually had a chance to develop at this or some other valued position.

To be sure, special teams are important. However, they had other players who could perform special teams tasks. The third or fourth running back might actually be needed in games to carry the ball and catch or block for passes.

Johnson defined another requirement for a player who will win a roster spot at this position. Johnson's comment applies specifically to Ahmed and Bennett.

"And then pass protection, how do we continue to improve?" he said. "When you're a little bit smaller as a running back… that's always what I'm looking for is, how well, how stout are we holding up to a blitzing linebacker as well (at blocking).”

Neither Bennett nor Ahmed crack the 200-pound barrier, so this naturally is a concern.

Not to throw doubt on the thinking of the Bears coach but last year they kept Kyle Monangai as a seventh-round pick and he had the worst Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade on the entire roster. Swift had a pass blocking grade only slightly better. The only players he beat out as a pass blocker were Luke Newman, Stephen Carlson and Colston Loveland, and Loveland was usually catching passes while all three of those players combined had only two more pass-blocking attempts than Monangai.

That being the case, running the football needs to be Job 1 for running backs. After all, they are "running" backs.

When Monangai goes down with an injury, as he has now twice in this training camp, the issue becomes not how can they replace his pass-blocking ability. It is how they replace his power running.

Running backs must run

Roschon Johnson really never has had much of an opportunity to try to impress coaches as a ball carrier after his rookie year, but he is the only one of all the backup running backs who qualifies as a power back. He also was the only one with a run longer than 12 yards in the preseason game.

More attention needs to be paid to the actual running of the football among these four backups vying to win either one or two roster spots.

After all, if they had to be called on to play offense in a game, it would be their primary job function. After one preseason game, there's little reason to doubt Roschon Johnson's ability here because he is the only legitimate power back in the group.

Also, he has played special teams effectively for them as a second return man and a lead blocker on returns. And, as a rookie, only four players on the roster who threw at least 50 pass blocks had higher PFF pass-blocking grades than Johnson.

Ahmed, Brown and Bennett should have a long way to go to take a roster spot from Roschon Johnson.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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