One thing I look forward to watching in Ben Johnson’s offense is how he uses every player on his roster. The first-year Chicago Bears head coach made his mark as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator with innovative play calls and designs that resulted in big numbers being put up on scoreboards. But what stood out to me while observing Johnson’s offenses from afar is how he was able to get his playmakers the ball in a variety of ways.
The potential for multiplicity is through the roof when you think about the Bears’ offensive weapons on this roster. D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, and Roschon Johnson (whenever he gets healthy) will be battling for touches out of the backfield. Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland make for a unique tandem of tight ends. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Olamide Zaccheaus sit atop the pecking order when it comes to the wide receivers. It is easy to feel good about this group going into the team’s Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. However, the running backs room gives reason for pause.
Don’t get me wrong. The Swift-Monangai-Johnson trio has the potential to put up some big numbers, especially while running behind a much-improved offensive line. With that being said, I think the Bears will look to players at other positions to bolster that ground game.
Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift (4) runs the ball during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn ImagesESPN’s Courtney Cronin snagged this quote from Bears Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle, who explained how he might work around a running backs room that has been dealing with injuries all summer:
“We’re depleted a little bit in that area as you can see, and so, we got to find ways to get our guys the ball. That doesn’t always have to be the running back; that can be a wideout, that can be a tight end, but we’ll continue to try to get the balls and the ball in the hands of our playmakers.”
Who gets touches in Week 1 (and beyond) will depend on which players are healthy. That is a given. But I can’t shake the feeling that we will see some Bears wide receivers working in the backfield throughout the 2025 NFL season.
New responsibilities for Bears receivers could lead to a fun offense
Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson has often mentioned the importance of motion in his offense. And while this team hadn’t used a ton of motion in recent years, that seems like it will change going into this season with a new regime. Putting receivers in motion often causes defenders to show their hand, which could help dictate to the quarterback where he should go with the ball on a given play. But receivers on the go also present opportunities for jet sweeps, end arounds, and other hand-offs to players you might not otherwise expect to get the ball.
One receiver I expect to get a fair number of touches out of the backfield is DJ Moore. Earlier in the summer, Chicago’s offensive coaching staff experimented with the star receiver working out of the backfield. This is what Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson had to say about the matter:
“I think what I’ve seen on tape and what I’ve come to learn about DJ is he’s a physical, run after catch, just get me the ball type of guy. Whether that’s in the backfield, whether that’s screens, I think he had a nice go route the other day. There’s a number of things that we’re looking to do and explore to how do we get him the ball and get him in space. We’re tinkering with that a little bit. Yesterday, you saw he’s really receptive to it.”
DJ Moore is an ideal candidate to get touches as a “running back” in this offense. Moore runs hard, has some elusivity in his game, is tough to tackle, and has the type of field vision that allows him to find creases to run through. Tack on Moore’s superb pass-catching ability and his knack for creating separation from defenders, and you can understand why this new offensive coaching staff was experiementing with new ways to get Moore the ball in 2025.
For what it’s worth, I do not expect Moore to be the only receiver to get touches out of the backfield. Olamide Zaccheaus has five career rushing attempts under his belt, three of which were converted into first downs. Rome Odunze had three rushes as a rookie last season (and 10 when he was in college at Washington). Luther Burden III might be the sneaky option for ground game touches. He had 34 rush attempts in three years at Missouri and scored four touchdowns. Getting Burden some looks out of the backfield might be an easy way to get the rookie the ball in a place to make a play.
Looking at the Lions’ recent history, it is worth pointing out that Amon-Ra St. Brown had 15 rushing attempts during Ben Johnson’s three years as Detroit’s offensive coordinator. Fellow wideout Jameson Williams had 15 carries (including 11 last season) and scored a pair of touchdowns. Even tight end Sam LaPorta has one 4-yard carry to his name. The way I see it, anyone could get a touch in the ground game this year. So keep your head on a swivel.
In the end, I don’t necessarily care how the Bears score touchdowns. But it would be nice to see them do it in fun and innovative ways. I haven’t been excited about an offense’s unveiling since 2019, when Matt Nagy was in Year 2 as a head coach. Hopefully, Ben Johnson has some tricks up his sleeve and makes it worth our wait.
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