Bear Digest

Bears 2024 Training Camp Preview: Will Shane Waldron Use His Backs?

The Chicago Bears running backs have an array of skills, including good speed, but past practices suggest new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron definitely doesn't overuse his running game.

Gene Chamberlain

Roschon Johnson proved he can contribute as a power back last year but the question is how much Shane Waldron will use him.
Roschon Johnson proved he can contribute as a power back last year but the question is how much Shane Waldron will use him. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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When last season ended, Roschon Johnson took stock of what he'd gone through during a 7-10 rookie campaign and pondered what it could mean for 2024.

"In the time that they put me in the game, I felt like I earned a lot of trust within those snaps and I feel like I can definitely improve," Johnson said.

Johnson's overall game did show something but then came the offensive coaching change and now he starts out needing to prove himself all over to new running backs coach Chad Morton and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

The running back situation is described as back by committee now but this is not entirely accurate.

They have two all-purpose backs in D'Andre Swift and Johnson, while Herbert is more of a runner and big-play threat but less help as a receiver or blocker. Swift and Herbert can make tacklers miss or break a tackle and go the distance. Johnson might make them miss but will run right through the tacklers, too.

The Bears didn't sign a running back at $8 million a year to give him the same number carries as the other backs so expect Swift will get the bulk of the carries, and where they go with splitting it between Herbert and Johnson remains to be seen.

"Nowadays, you need that one-two, two or three, you need multiple guys," Swift said. "It's a long season and there's long games played.

"You need kind of multi-back system for the season to keep guys fresh and that sort of thing. That's what my answer is."

Waldron's history in Seattle was Kenneth Walker making 219 and 228 carries and the rest of the backs splitting up what's left. It was not backs by committee. It did look like backs by committee from final stats of 2021 but they lost Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson for major chunks of the season, so all the backs had to contribute.

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So the preference doesn't seem to be exact shared duties.

"There's just a lot of opportunity out there," Swift said.  "That's how I look at it. Not just for me, for everybody.

"For all the playmakers, for receivers, for backs, there's a lot of opportunities out there in this offense."

Whether this is an offense leaning to any of the three backs doesn't seem to matter. It's an offense leaning heavily toward the pass, based on Waldron's years in Seattle.

The Seahawks were 28th in rushing, 24th in rushing first downs and 31st in attempts last year, although they were 20th in yards per carry at 4.1. More telling, they were last in time of possession at 26:38 per game.

They were better in 2022 at 18th in rushing, seventh in yards per carry and 18th in rushing first downs but only 22nd in rushing attempts and 31st or next to last in time of possession.

In his first year as a coordinator, they were 11th in rushing, third in yards per attempt and 19th in rushing first downs, but only 27th in attempts and dead last in time of possession at 25:17.

"The 17-game season, we know that's a grind," Waldron said. "There are a lot of different things that are going to happen throughout the course of that season."

If past is prologue, it doesn't sound like one of those things will be running it excessively.

The Bears running backs will get their work in, will produce on the ground but will not be taken too seriously by their offensive coordinator.

He's going to have Caleb Williams pass it and they might even pass it to the backs because they did this on occasion in Seattle, too.

Bears Running Backs Outlook

Starters: No. 4 D'Andre Swift, No. 35 Khari Blasingame (fullback)

Backups: No. 24 Khalil Herbert, No. 23 Roschon Johnson, No. 20 Travis Homer

Roster Hopeful: No. 33 Ian Wheeler

Strengths: Speed, as Herbert and Swift both ran sub-4.5 in the 40. Both are quickly upfield and not wasting steps as they were ranked 10th and 12th respectively in running efficiency by NFL Next Gen Stats. Both Johnson and Swift have displayed good hands, although Swift is known to Bears fans for dropping a game-winning catch in the closing seconds against their team in the 2020 season opener. Swift made the Pro Bowl last season.

Weaknesses: While they have speed, what they lack is a real top-end burner like Detroit has with Jahmyr Gibbs. None of the backs have built reputations for getting the tough yards at the goal line or in short yardage. They'd like to see Johnson establish this identity but it takes some reps for this. The knock on Swift is lack of toughness as a runner. It's possible this is exaggerated, but Swift has fumbled nine times in four seasons. He hasn't been as protective of the ball as Herbert, who has only two fumbles, and Johnson, who has one.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.