The Chicago Bears had a big question mark surrounding running back heading into last season, but D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai put those concerns to rest leading the league’s third-best rushing attack in 2025.
Last season, the duo of Swift and Monangai proved to be a potent one for the Bears, even though it took a few weeks to get the ground game going. Swift had a career year with 1,087 rushing yards on 223 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns while the seventh-round rookie Monangai totaled 783 rushing yards on 169 carries (4.6 yards per carry) and five scores.
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CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns ranked the top running back duos in the NFL, and Swift and Monangai landed at seventh on the list, which isn’t a surprise from a Ben Johnson 1-2 punch in the backfield.
D’Andre Swift just turned in the best season of his career, and he did so even while ceding 169 carries to his rookie teammate. What Kyle Monangai accomplished with those opportunities (racking up 783 yards and five touchdowns) set the stage for what should be a stellar career of his own. They combined to form the No. 3 rushing offense in the NFL, and if we know anything about coach Ben Johnson, it is that he can build the best one-two punch at this position. It’s too early to say Swift and Monangai are the next Gibbs and Montgomery, but any improvement in Year 2 together would move them closer to that tier.
While there have been calls for the Bears to land a splash at running back, they have bigger needs to focus on this offseason, most notably on defense. After Swift and Monangai led a productive rushing attack, behind a top offensive line that will look a little different next season, there’s hope that they can continue their success in Year 2 with Johnson.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears’ D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai among top running back duos
