D'Andre Swift

Herbert was not targeted. It was extremely poor usage with Roschon Johnson healthy scratched and the Bears spending most of the afternoon in comeback mode. D'Andre Swift was the first choice in every game situation, while Velus Jones got the gadget work. Herbert is merely a contingency back, and would be thrust into a committee even were Swift to go down with injury.

With the Bears falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter and Caleb Williams struggling to hit the broad side of the barn, there was no such thing as "run-friendly game script" this afternoon despite Chicago somehow emerging triumphant 24-17. With Roschon Johnson healthy scratched, Swift faced zero touch competition. Khalil Herbert barely played and Velus Jones attempted to play a gadget role. With things unlikely to go quite as sideways in Week 2 against the Texans, Swift can remain locked in as a low-end RB2 as we take the measure of this offense.

Although technically a healthy scratch since he was removed from the injury report on Friday, Johnson had been listed with a toe issue. However serious the "injury" is, Johnson obviously could have suited up were he a serious part of the Bears' 2024 plans. It appears he is not, leaving Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer and we suppose Velus Jones to back up D'Andre Swift in Swift's Bears debut.

Bears RB Roschon Johnson is a healthy scratch for today's opener vs. the Titans. That leaves RBs D'Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, and Travis Homer dressed for Chicago. We'll see what the workload split looks like under new OC Shane Waldron, but Swift is the only viable Week 1 fantasy play. We'd expect Johnson to work into the backfield mix if Swift or Herbert miss time this season, but he's droppable in shallow fantasy leagues.

Healthy or not, Johnson isn't on the fantasy radar for Week 1. His presence on passing downs will be annoying for D'Andre Swift, who is already in a touch squeeze based on Kahlil Herbert's role in the backfield. Chicago's running back room is shaping up to be one of the more frustrating fantasy situations on a week-to-week basis.