The Bears backfield is getting a makeover up here after Khalil Herbert’s fluke ankle injury on Thursday Night. Herbert had finally grasped the RB1 role in Chicago after hitting 78% snap share in Week 4 and was dominating usage in Week 5 before getting hurt.
Now that Herbert is shelved for at least a few weeks, we’re expecting rookie Roschon Johnson to take over the lead role in the Bears backfield. The rookie impressed enough early on to demote D’Onta Foreman to a healthy scratch for Weeks 2-4.
Johnson saw an impressive seven targets Week 1 but that number has regressed as time went on and Herbert took a bigger claim of the backfield. Despite that, Johnson possesses great upside as a full time participant in the Bears backfield, so much that The Wolf has him high up in this week’s waiver priority.
Luckily, this Bears offense is finally showing signs of life as Justin Fields is trending back towards elite status. He’s not running as much as last year, which is a positive for both backs in this offense.
While we highlighted Johnson a lot above, don’t forget about Foreman’s potential role in this offense. He’s actually been a lead back and filled in quite well for the Panthers after they dealt Christian McCaffrey. Foreman was not a consistent weekly starter, but he did have 15.5, 31.8, 19, 11.3, and 22.5 fantasy point days.
Foreman is a big, physical runner that could take over down around the goal line. If the Bears feel that Johnson isn’t ready for lead back duties, they could give it to Foreman while working the rookie in as a committee.
Regardless, both of these guys will be getting increased snaps and touches for the foreseeable future. The Bears also have a juicy upcoming schedule with the Vikings, Raiders and Chargers defenses in their sights.
