Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is about to make a huge mistake

When Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles misses on transaction, he really misses.

Making underachieving wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. a third-round pick: Big whiff.

Trading a second-round pick for troubled wide receiver Chase Claypool: Bigger whiff.

Inking wobbly free agent offensive lineman Nate Davis to a three-year, $30 million contract: Biggest whiff.

Last season’s signing of running back D’Andre Swift doesn’t make the big whiff list. The running back, while a notable disappointment, was periodically semi-productive, so let’s grade Poles out at a C-.

Ben Johnson, however, gives Swift an A. And that's worrisome.

Ben’s All In

From the NFL Combine, Johnson—who was Swift’s offensive coordinator during the majority of the RB’s three-year tenure in Detroit—told the media that he remains high on the 26-year-old:

“He’s an explosive athlete. There’s [sic] a number of things that he can do both in the running game and in the passing game. I do think he can help ignite an offense because he’s got that playmaking ability, so it’ll be fun to start to work together again here this springtime with him.”

This tells us that Johnson is a loyal dude, for which he gets a ton of points. But it also tells us that his loyalty clouds his judgement. And that’s also worrisome.

Not So Swift

Swift's 2024 numbers should be of great concern to everybody on the Bears staff:

Yards: Swift finished the season with 959 yards on the ground, ranking him 18th in the league, just 54 yards ahead of the Chargers’ J.K. Dobbins…and Dobbins played four less freakin’ games.

Touchdowns: The 25-year-old managed six rushing touchdowns, the same number as his teammate Roschon Johnson…and Johnson had freakin’ 198 less carries.

Efficiency: The former Georgia Bulldog’s 43.9% rushing success rate ranked 51st in the NFL…a whopping 5.7% behind the freakin’ league average.

Granted, Swift was hamstrung with a lousy offensive line and lousier play callers, but a legit RB1 can at least somewhat overcome bad circumstances. Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard, who, despite an equally blecch support system last season, racked up 1,195 rushing yards (eighth-best in the league) to go with 10 rushing touchdowns (seventh-best in the league).

If Johnson thinks Swift is the answer, well, yikes.

Better Things

Last season in Detroit, Johnson had wild success deploying a pair of RB1s in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, so it’s possible that Chicago plans to draft an NFL-ready back (Ashton Jeanty, Omariaon Hampton, Kaleb Johnson) and/or bring in a veteran free agent like Najee Harris or Aaron Jones Jr.

And that should be the move, as Chicago and Johnson will be making a crucial error if they roll into 2025 pinning their rushing hopes on D’Andre Swift.