The Chicago Bears have been busy this offseason making some much-needed upgrades to their roster.
Most of the Bears’ resources have been devoted to revamping the offensive line – with trades for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney and signing Drew Dalman in free agency.
Caleb Williams is the obvious beneficiary of having two former Pro Bowl guards and an ascending center added to the starting offensive line. For a quarterback who was sacked 68 times during his rookie season, having some quality linemen on the interior of the line should help eliminate sacks and translate to Williams having more confidence in the pocket as he enters his second season.
It’s hard to argue anyone other than Williams will have the most to gain from the improved offensive line, but D’Andre Swift is a close second.
The Bears’ running back experienced some highs and lows during his first season in Chicago. He finished with 959 yards and six rushing touchdowns on 253 attempts. Swift also added 42 receptions for 386 yards.
In 17 games played, Swift only exceeded 100 yards rushing once – against the Washington Commanders when he went for 129 yards on 18 attempts and scored on a 56-yard touchdown run.
The 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back also finished with -174 rushing yards over expected (RYOE), which is the difference between actual rushing yards and expected rushing yards on an individual play or series of plays, according to Next Gen Stats. That was the worst in the NFL among running backs with at least 90 rushing attempts.
According to Pro Football Focus, Swift also finished with 38 forced missed tackles after a rush – ranking 21st in the NFL.
Swift’s 2024 season could’ve been better, but the new additions on the offense line should help the running back become a more effective player in his second year with the team.
Using PFF’s run-blocking grades, here is how the new additions in Thuney, Dalman, and Jackson compare to the Bears’ predecessors in Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, and Matt Pryor from each of their respective 2024 seasons.
(Jackson only played in four games during the 2024 season and Dalman was limited to nine games due to injury.)
Joe Thuney (73.5) Rank 59 | Teven Jenkins (74.3) Rank 50 |
|---|---|
Drew Dalman (79.8) Rank 28 | Coleman Shelton (66.7) Rank 121 |
Jonah Jackson (68.8) Rank 100 | Matt Pryor (65.9) Rank 131 |
The Bears will see the biggest jump from the upgrade at center with Dalman. Jenkins had a higher PFF score than Thuney, but that was recorded in 14 games compared to Thuney's 17. Jenkins' issue wasn't about performance but availability. Thuney has missed two games throughout his entire nine-year career, and Jenkins has missed 23 games through his first four seasons in the NFL. Pryor played well for someone who was supposed to be a depth piece last season, but the hope is that Jackson returns to a Pro Bowl-caliber player with Johnson back as his play caller.
Obviously, those are individual grades, and it will take the entire unit playing well for the run game to be successful, but the additions the Bears made should benefit Swift this upcoming season. When Swift was behind the Eagles' offensive line in 2023, he finished with a career-high 1,049 rushing yards, a -65 RYOE (40 out of 49) and 43 forced missed tackles (14th).
Swift signed a three-year, $24 million deal last offseason, tying him for the 12th-highest-paid running back in annual average per year at $8 million with Derrick Henry. The only stat that Swift ended as a top-15 running back last season was his 56-yard run against Washington, which was tied for the 15th-longest run of the season with Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.
Given how Swift’s 2024 season went, there is a legitimate reason why the Bears could look to add another running back in the upcoming draft. Bears head coach Ben Johnson has also had success utilizing a backfield that has two functional weapons as he did in Detroit with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
Johnson was the tight ends coach when the Lions drafted Swift with the 35th overall pick in the second round in 2020. During the 2022 season, Swift’s last year with the Lions and Johnson's first year as the play caller, he finished with a career-low in carries (99) while Jamaal Williams finished with 262 attempts for 1,066 yards.
During the week of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Johnson was asked about Swift.
“I was with Swifty when we first drafted him in Detroit a number of years ago, and I followed his career even after he left Detroit and think very highly of him," Johnson said. "He’s an explosive athlete. There’s 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.”
The Bears' upgrades on the offensive line combined with Johnson's run scheme should equate to a better version of Swift this upcoming season, and his elevated play would be a compliment to another playmaker in the backfield if Chicago chooses to add one in the draft.