The following is the second of nine position previews in advance of training camp.

Veteran running back D'Andre Swift returns for a second season with the Bears after producing a career-high 1,345 yards from scrimmage in 2024.

Starting all 17 games, Swift rushed for 959 yards and six touchdowns on 253 carries and caught 42 passes for 386 yards. His three rushing TDs of at least 35 yards were the third most in the NFL.

"I think very highly of him," said coach Ben Johnson, who worked with Swift in Detroit. "He's an explosive athlete. There are a number of things that he can do, both in the running game and the passing game. I do think that he can help ignite an offense because he's got that playmaking ability."

Swift spent his first three NFL seasons with the Lions when Johnson was Detroit's tight ends coach (2020-21), passing game coordinator (2021) and offensive coordinator (2022). When Johnson called plays for the first time in 2022, Swift averaged a career-high 5.5 yards per carry.

Swift is excited about reuniting with Johnson in Chicago.

"The offense we have and all the concepts and the run game and all of the different stuff that he's doing, he's one of the smartest football minds I've ever been around," Swift said. "He's really, really intelligent."

Swift has also enjoyed working with new running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. The no-nonsense assistant boasts 26 years of NFL experience, nine as a running back and 17 as a coach, including 10 seasons with the Chiefs as running backs coach (2013-17) and offensive coordinator (2018-22).

"His style of coaching is something I kind of gravitate to, to be honest with you, holding everybody accountable," Swift said. "The little stuff is big stuff with him, as well, like the details and everything like that. The type of coach that you want to play for. He isn't going to let anything go by the wayside, just like Ben and everybody else on the staff. I think that you kind of turn your level up as well."

Also back this year is Roschon Johnson, a 2023 fourth-round pick from Texas. The 6-foot, 227-pounder has appeared in 29 games over his first two seasons, rushing for 502 yards and eight TDs on 136 carries and catching 50 passes for 313 yards.

The Bears addressed the running back position in the draft, selecting Kyle Monangai in the seventh round out of Rutgers. They view the 5-8, 211-pounder as a physical, tough runner who possesses high football and personal character. At Rutgers, Monangai appeared in 52 games the past five years and rushed for 3,221 yards and 27 TDs on 669 carries. He was named first-team All-Big Ten last year after rushing for a career high 1,279 yards, his second straight season eclipsing 1,200 yards on the ground.

Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle describes Monangai as "a guy who runs angry."

"There's a lot to be developed there when guys run that way," Doyle said. "He's a physical runner who's going to come in and do the dirty work and really going to add to that room and compete, and that's really what we were looking for in that slot."

Last month Johnson identified Monangai as one of four under-the-radar players who impressed him in offseason workouts.

"Kyle Monangai has really stepped up," Johnson said. "I appreciate the attention to detail and the pride he takes and how quickly he's picking things up."

Also competing for playing time in training camp and the preseason will be veteran Travis Homer, second-year pro Ian Wheeler and rookie Deion Hankins.

Homer returns for his third year with the Bears after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Seahawks. He appeared in 10 games in 2024, all as a reserve, rushing for 23 yards on six carries, catching three passes for 11 yards and registering six special teams tackles.

Wheeler joined the Bears last year as an undrafted free agent from Howard. He rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns on five carries in a preseason win over the Bills but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason finale.

Hankins was signed by the Bears this year as an undrafted free agent. He played in 59 games over six seasons at UTEP (2019-23) and Texas State (2024), rushing for 2,876 yards and 25 TDs on 610 carries and catching 16 passes for 140 yards.