When Ben Johnson came in as the Chicago Bears' head coach, fixing what had been an inefficient run game was at or near the top of the agenda. Heavy investment in the offensive line was the first step toward getting that done, and then came the pairing of rookie Kyle Monangai with D'Andre Swift in an effort to improve Swift's efficiency.
Monangai eventually moved into a notable role alongside Swift last season, which set the veteran up to succeed at a high level and aligned with what was surely Johnson's vision for the Bears' backfield in one fell swoop. Good results followed, of course, as Chicago had the third-best rushing offense in the league by yardage per game (144.5) and yards per carry (4.9).
Swift's resume as a pass catcher is good, and Monangai has some untapped potential in that area as he looks to clean up a small (although memorable at times) issue with drops as a rookie.
Swift is entering a contract year, and the arrow is pointing up for Monangai entering his second season. So last year's formula for the Bears' backfield is in line to be comfortably repeated, just with Monangai getting more work since he's in line to be heavily involved from the start.
1 stat says Bears just may have the NFL's best running back duo
According to FTN Fantasy, Swift and Monangai were No. 1 and No. 3 in Rushing DVOA inside the 10-yard line last season (minimum 15 carries).
- D'Andre Swift-36.3%
- Kyren Williams-33.3%
- Kyle Monangai-29.3%
- Kenneth Gainwell-29.3%
- Jahmyr Gibbs-25.4%
Swift and Monangai combined for 11 touchdowns on 43 carries inside the 10-yard line last year, as they, as expected, split the workload fairly evenly in that area of the field (24 carries for Swift, 19 for Monangai).
As much as that DVOA mark can be credited to the Bears' offensive line, and that unit absolutely deserves a ton of credit for their exemplary work, Swift and Monangai, with different running styles, took full advantage of having room to operate.
Rushing efficiency near the goal line is a hallmark of the NFL's best offenses, and the Bears had it in 2025 in a way they had not before. It can be argued that a top-10 scoring and yardage offense flowed from that.
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As crazy as it sounds, if Monangai progresses as expected and takes on more work, all the related rushing efficiency marks in the red zone for Chicago seem to have some room to grow in 2026.
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