Who Are the Best Bears Running Backs to Pick in Fantasy Football?
The Bears' running back room has remained an under-the-radar competition throughout training camp and preseason. However, this has been a difficult race to follow as injuries have plagued nearly everyone. Primary backups Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai have been out of practice and games recently. Currently, one of the only backs who has stayed healthy is DeAndre Swift, which bodes well for his chances of holding on to his starting job; unless the team decides to trade for one of the available running backs. This hard-to-follow situation makes it murky for fantasy football, but there is still value available.
Swift is the expected main guy right now. He has been the favored starter the whole time, but these injuries have nearly sealed the deal. Additionally, he has the advantage of knowing the offense, having played under Ben Johnson in Detroit. Three of the major fantasy platforms, Yahoo, ESPN, and Fantasy Pros, believe in his ability to take over the backfield. Among their fantasy football running back rankings, he currently has an average ranking of 22nd, which is accurate to his value. It is also fairly consistent with where he has finished in past years, as since 2020, he has finished between 19th and 23rd in terms of fantasy running backs.
He is certainly not a league winner, but he does give you a strong second running back. This past season, Swift had 253 carries for 959 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 42 catches for 386 yards. Currently, he has little competition, so maintaining this usage should not be too much of a struggle. The whole offense, especially the passing game, where Swift has more value than the others, is set to gain an uptick in value under Ben Johnson.
For redraft leagues, Swift may be where the fantasy impact ends for the Bears' backfield. Johnson has an average ranking of 57th, while Monangai has an average of 70th. The fact that both of these backs have been injured hurts their value, as they have not had the time to prove themself. In terms of deeper redraft or keeper leagues, Johnson could be a solid fifth or sixth running back due to the potential he has of having the bruiser role in the offense, but he should not be expected to offer much fantasy value right away. Both of these guys carry more value in dynasty leagues. For now, Swift leads the way, but the battle is far from settled.
