Top under-the-radar Chicago Bears players to watch in 2025: No. 3 Roschon Johnson

The Bears made a lot of headlines in the NFL this offseason. It started when general manager Ryan Poles hired Ben Johnson to be his new head coach and continued in the following months when Poles revamped his offensive line and boosted the defensive line.

There’s plenty to watch once training camp starts later in July. Many will look to see how the Bears adjust to Johnson’s new coaching staff and how quarterback Caleb Williams looks heading into his second season.

But there are some under-the-radar players who could become contributors in 2025. Shaw Local is counting down the top five under-the-radar Bears this week. These could be Bears who are waiting for an opportunity to take a bigger role, rookies looking to make an impact or simply a player who Bears fans aren’t talking about enough.

Here’s a look at No. 3 on the list. Check back each day this week for the next installment.

No. 3 Roschon Johnson

Position: Running back

Experience: Third season

Looking back: Poles selected Roschon Johnson in the fourth round, 115th overall, of the 2023 draft. He became the second running back Poles drafted as Bears general manager after selecting Baylor’s Trestan Ebner in the sixth round in 2022. Ebner played mostly special teams during his rookie season before the Bears waived him after training camp in 2023.

Some analysts believed Roschon Johnson could challenge to become the Bears starting running back when Poles selected him after he let David Montgomery sign with the Detroit Lions in 2023. But Roschon Johnson struggled to find consistent results over two seasons.

In 29 games, he’s rushed for 502 yards, eight touchdowns and 33 first downs on 136 carries. He’s also caught 50 passes for 313 yards and been a productive special teamer at times.

There are multiple reasons why Roschon Johnson has struggled to find stability in his game. He missed two games during his rookie season because of a concussion and missed two more last season because of another concussion.

Roschon Johnson wasn’t placed in the best position to succeed last year under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. In 14 games last season, he received 55 carries, mostly in short-yardage situations. He finished with 150 rushing yards, which ranked third on the team, 17 first downs and six touchdowns.

Looking ahead: Roschon Johnson, like many of the Bears running backs, faces a big season this fall. Much has been made of D’Andre Swift reuniting with Ben Johnson and Poles selecting Kyle Monangai in the seventh round this April. But Roschon Johnson has fallen under the radar when it comes to Bears rushers.

He’ll get an opportunity to prove himself in training camp with Ben Johnson as his play caller. As the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Ben Johnson helped turn running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery into an unstoppable duo. They led the Lions to 2,488 rushing yards last season, which ranked No. 6 in the NFL, and complemented each others’ skillsets.

That should be good news for Roschon Johnson. Swift is expected to be the starter once the season begins. But Ben Johnson has shown he likes to use multiple running backs and feature their talents to his offense’s benefit. He should place Roschon Johnson in better spots in front of an improved offensive line to pick up larger gains.

Roschon Johnson will need to show he can be part of that duo during training camp. Monangai will challenge him for snaps. But with two more years left on his rookie contract, Roschon Johnson will try to prove that he can be more than a short-yardage running back and special teamer in the NFL.