Most important Chicago Bears in 2025: No. 7 D’Andre Swift

The wait is almost over. The Bears will return to the practice field July 23 when they hold their first training camp practice under new head coach Ben Johnson.

Over two weeks, Shaw Local is counting down the top 10 most important Bears heading into the 2025 season. Importance is obviously subjective. But for our purposes, it comes down to these questions:

Are the Bears worse off without the player? Does the player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?

The best player on the team isn’t always the most important, but he certainly can be.

Here’s a look at No. 7 on the list. Check back in over the next two weeks to see the top 10 most important Bears.

No. 7 D’Andre Swift

Position: Running back

Experience: Sixth season

Looking back: Bears general manager Ryan Poles chose D’Andre Swift to be the Bears’ running back as the team entered a new stage in its rebuild in 2024. Poles let running back David Montgomery walk and sign with the Detroit Lions the previous offseason, and signed Swift to a three-year, $24.5 million contract.

Swift played up to his potential with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 and had come off his best season. He rushed for a career-high 1,049 yards to go with five touchdowns and 4.6 yards per carry.

Once he got to the Bears last year, Swift had mixed results. Swift rushed for 959 yards and six touchdowns on a career-high 253 carries as the Bears’ top running back. But he also averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry as he struggled to find open holes at times.

The varied results came from different sources. There were times when Swift struggled to follow his blocks and find open space. But the Bears’ offensive line struggled to create running lanes for much of the season. The play calling from former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was at times questionable.

Looking ahead: Swift will have a lot to prove this season. Not only will he try to show that he can be the electric playmaker the Bears believe he can be, but he’ll also try to prove that he can be a weapon in his reunion with Johnson.

Swift and Johnson spent time together in Detroit from 2020 to 2022. Johnson was Swift’s offensive coordinator in 2022 before the Lions traded him to the Eagles. During that one season with Johnson as his play caller, Swift finished second on the team with 542 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Johnson told reporters during the offseason that he kept up with Swift after he left the Lions and was impressed with his play. Those impressions continued during spring practices as the two started to build a rapport with each once again.

“I think very highly of him,” Johnson said during the offseason. “He’s an explosive athlete. There’s a number of things that he can do both in the running game and the passing game. I do think he can help ignite an offense because he’s got that playmaking ability.”

That playmaking ability will be important for the offense’s success. Swift showed at times last year how he can find a hole and make a few moves to pick up a large gain. He even proved that he can be a threat as a pass catcher with 42 receptions for 386 yards.

If Swift becomes more of a threat as a rusher and a receiver, that should force defenses to pay more attention to him. That in turn would open the passing game for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.

Third-year running back Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai will compete for carries once training camp starts. But Swift is expected to get the ball in big moments once the season begins. If he performs in those big moments, that could help the offense reach its full potential under Johnson’s play calling.

Previous installments of the top 10 most important Bears

• No. 10 Gervon Dexter
• No. 9 Drew Dalman
• No. 8 Dayo Odeyingbo