Matt Forte Speaks to Bears on SI About Bears' 2025 Season and 2026 NFL Draft

"Yeah, I'm pretty indignant about it," Matt Forte responds. I asked the legendary Chicago Bears running back what he thinks about how his position tends to be devalued in the NFL these days, and he launched into what was by far his longest answer from our entire conversation. He pushed back against the idea that good running backs are "a dime a dozen" in the modern NFL, pointing to Saquon Barkley's electric 2024 season. "Jalen Hurts is a good quarterback, but he's not a Super Bowl-winning quarterback without [Saquon Barkley]."

Forte had plenty to say about this and more in our conversation, from the 2025 Chicago Bears' awakening on offense to his favorite highlight as a Bear (it's probably not the one you're thinking of). The two-time Pro Bowler also spoke about the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Forte is working with The Athletic this year to promote NFL draft analyst Dane Brugler's The Beast draft guideline, which is available today to The Athletic subscribers, but will be free for everyone through The Athletic's app tomorrow. In fact, Forte will be answering fans’ draft questions alongside The Athletic in Chicago on April 21st at 4-5 pm CT, outside the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

But before we get into what Forte thinks about this year's class of running backs, or how Kyle Monangai emerging as a weapon midseason was so important for the Bears, we started at the beginning, when Forte was drafted with the No. 44 pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

Forte respects the giants upon whose shoulders he stood

"It was an honor, man, to be drafted by a team with such a rich history," Forte said about being selected by the Bears, "because you get to follow in the footsteps of guys who have done it before you, but who did it the right way, and did it on a major scale." But it's not only the legends of running backs Gale Sayers and Walter Payton that Forte revered. He mentioned the great defenders of past Bears teams, giants like Richard Dent and Dick Butkus, and even those who were on the team when he was drafted. They all, legends of the past and those who were his teammates, helped Forte become the running back he was.

He also emphasized that he couldn't have succeeded without a strong support group, and that started at home. "I was glad that I had humility about it," Forte said. "I earned my way into being drafted, but I also know that it wasn't all on my own. I had stepping stones to get there, had people help me, and being raised in a good family... I don't own this moment as being given to me; it's an opportunity to make something big, make the most of it."

Matt Forte — Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

A beautiful family moment at Soldier Field

When I asked Forte if a particular game or highlight sticks out as his favorite memory as a Bear, I was expecting him to mention his 50-yard touchdown in his NFL debut against the Indianapolis Colts, the first touchdown scored in their new stadium, or the London game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Forte made such a clean cut that two defenders tackled each other. Instead, he told me about the 2012 season opener against the Colts at Soldier Field.

In that game, a dominant 41-21 win for the Bears, something unusual happened to the tickets for his parents. Instead of sitting in the usual family section, they were in the front row of the north endzone. "I saw them in pregame warmups and was like, man, I gotta score. It'd be awesome to give the ball to my dad," Forte told me. Forte's dad, Gene Forte, had also played football at Tulane University, but knee injuries precluded him from making it to the NFL.

With 11:57 remaining in the third quarter, Forte took the handoff from Jay Cutler and barreled six yards ahead for a touchdown in the north endzone, pushing the Bears to a 31-10 lead. After a quick skyward point, he hustled over to his parents and gave his dad the ball. "There's a shot, and I've got the photo, as well," he told me, describing a photograph that is clearly near and dear to him. "It's me handing the ball to my dad, and my mom's there. Everybody's cheering, the whole crowd, you can see a little bit of the skyline, and the whole stadium's rocking."

A beautiful family moment memorialized at Soldier Field. It doesn't get better than that.

Matt Fort — Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

2025 was a good year for the Bears, but 2026 needs to be better

Like the rest of the Bears fanbase, Forte enjoyed watching Chicago's 2025 run, especially when it came to beating the Packers twice. Winning football just means more in Chicago than it does in other cities, Forte told me."Other guys I've talked to who played in different cities, it takes them maybe a couple of seasons of being good for the crowd and people to kinda get behind them," Forte said. "This market here in Chicago, it's like a light switch. You flip the switch on, and you can feel the energy within the city."

But at the end of the day, a miraculous Wild Card win over the Packers isn't good enough without a Super Bowl title. "Winning one playoff game was cool, but winning the second one... would have been even better, but then also going to the Super Bowl and getting the win," Forte said. He's not satisfied with a postseason appearance, as fun as that was. He wants to see his Bears return to the mountaintop.

Good running backs don't grow on trees

Consider Matt Forte to be vehemently opposed to how the NFL has viewed the running back position in recent years. After expressing his indignation at the attitude that capable NFL running backs grow on trees, he pointed to the pivotal role the position plays in January. "It rings true in every season when the playoffs hit, and the Super Bowl comes," Forte said, referencing how Saquon Barkley pushed the Eagles over the top in 2024. "Same thing when Patrick Mahomes had a dynamic running game... I think [the Chiefs] faltered recently without having that kind of running game dominance."

Forte also brought up the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, and the role that Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III played in that, saying, "He really propelled them forward in the playoffs, where the quarterback position was able to kind of manage the game in a way of not to lose it." He's not wrong. All credit to quarterback Sam Darnold, but he only had to attempt 17 passes in their massive 41-6 Divisional round win, and his passer rating in the Super Bowl was a paltry 74.7.

"People in the media talk about it a lot, they downgrade the running back position," Forte said, putting a bow on his many thoughts on the subject, "but if you watch the film, [the importance of running backs] is always true."

Why The Beast is a must-read draft guide for Bears fans

When it comes to guides for the annual NFL draft, The Athletic's "The Beast" is the gold standard, and that's why Forte is helping promote it this year. "The name is titled right: The Beast, because it is a beast," Forte told me. "First and foremost, for the work that is put in to be so comprehensive, but also because of the accuracy in evaluating players."

Forte mentioned that even NFL executives use The Beast to help fill in the corners of their own evaluations, and how important this guide is for players from small schools to get more exposure ahead of the NFL draft. As for the fans, Forte notes that they can use The Beast to "dive into specific positions, specific needs" for their favorite team, or even for their fantasy teams, and be more informed than the casual fan.

With the draft in mind, I asked Forte why he thinks Bears fans in particular should check out The Beast. "I want my Bears fans to do their research and to be able to look at the draft comprehensively," he told me, mentioning how the Bears currently have four Top 100 picks. "[The Beast] is a dynamic guide, and as a dynamic running back, I want them to have a dynamic guide that can show them all the prospects in this upcoming draft and their availability in being there [when the Bears are on the clock]."

Most importantly, and for the first time ever, The Beast will be free to everyone on April 9th, only through The Athletic app.

Despite a weaker running back class, 2026 could see another Kyle Monangai get drafted

Without a Bijan Robinson or Ashton Jeanty type of prospect, the 2026 class is expected to be light on elite running backs. Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love is likely to be the only running back to be drafted in the first round, but that doesn't mean that there won't be some sleepers, guys who are drafted in Day 2 or Day 3 who end up proving a lot of people wrong.

I mentioned Kyle Monangai, who was drafted in the seventh round, as an example, and Forte agreed, saying, "That's the perfect analogy, to see Kyle Monangai come in and be a diamond in the rough. To not only spare D'Andre Swift but add a different type of running style."

As Bears fans remember, Monangai got his first big break in Week 9 last season. Swift was ruled out with a groin injury ahead of Chicago's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Monangai was asked to shoulder a full workload, and he delivered in spades, racking up 176 yards on just 26 carries. "Sometimes, people get overlooked," Forte said, "but that's what they always say: it only takes one team. You're auditioning for 32 of them, but it only takes one."

If Bears fans want to make sure they don't overlook the next Kyle Monangai, they can check out The Beast from The Athletic and get all the knowledge about the 2026 pool of NFL draft prospects that they could ever need.

Chicago Bears fan — Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images