Player outlook
D'Andre Swift ran better while his receiving work disappeared.
Swift reached career highs on the ground in 2025, but Kyle Monangai's emergence and a sharp second-half target drop make his PPR value less secure than the rushing total suggests.
D'Andre Swift ran for 543 yards in his final eight games of 2025, one fewer than he gained in his first eight. His rushing workload barely moved. His receiving production did: 23 catches for 210 yards before the midpoint became 11 catches for 89 yards after it.
That split is the center of Swift's 2026 fantasy outlook. He is coming off career highs in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, remains first on Chicago's depth chart, and plays in an offense that produced the NFL's third-most rushing yards. Yet his easiest source of PPR points was already being squeezed while Kyle Monangai grew into a substantial role.
Ball Ranks puts Swift 42nd overall and RB19 in PPR. That is close to his 45.8 ADP, but the agreement hides a real question: are drafters buying a lead back, or the more valuable half of a tandem?
D'Andre Swift's depth chart
CHI at RB, using the league's published depth chart.
| # | Player | 2025 snap shareAverage share of offensive snaps in the games he played, 2025 regular season. Green = entrenched, amber = rotational, gray = fringe. Check GP: a backup can post a real share in mop-up games while barely playing all season. | GPGames he appeared in, 2025 regular season — the denominator behind the snap share | 2025 finish2025 fantasy finish at the position (PPR) | 2026 projModel One's projected 2026 rank at the position (PPR) | ADPAverage draft position in real drafts this week — whether the market is drafting him at all is its own threat signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D'Andre Swift | 58%Snap share is averaged over the games he actually played (16). | 16 | RB15 | RB19 | 45.8 |
| 2 | Kyle Monangai | 41%Snap share is averaged over the games he actually played (17). | 17 | RB29 | RB38 | 110.2 |
| 3 | Roschon Johnson | 1%Snap share is averaged over the games he actually played (6). | 6 | RB133 | RB109 | undrafted |
| 4 | Brittain Brown | 7%Snap share is averaged over the games he actually played (2). | 2 | RB109 | RB117 | undrafted |
Snap share and finish are 2025; projections and ADP are 2026 (Model One, PPR). "Undrafted" means no ADP in real drafts this week.
The career year was real, but it was not a workhorse season
Swift carried 223 times for 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025. All three were career highs. He also caught 34 passes for 299 yards and another score, finishing with 228.6 PPR points in 16 games. Those are strong totals, and the rushing efficiency held from one half of the season to the other.
The snap share supplies the restraint. Swift played 57.9% of Chicago's offensive snaps, while Monangai earned 169 carries, 783 rushing yards, and 18 receptions as a rookie. The Bears' 2026 running back preview calls them one of the league's top tandems and quotes Ben Johnson describing the pair as a “formidable unit.” This is not an offseason guess about a backup eventually earning work. The split already happened.
Swift still led the pair and is listed first on the official August 26 depth chart. He has also cleared 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons after never doing it in Detroit. The lead role is credible. It simply does not carry the touch monopoly that normally makes an RB2 price feel safe.
The target drop matters more in PPR
Swift received 32 targets and caught 23 passes in his first eight games. Over his final eight, he saw 16 targets and caught 11. His rushing touchdowns actually rose from four to five across those spans, masking some of the receiving loss in the final fantasy totals.
That distinction matters because receiving work is both efficient fantasy scoring and insulation against a bad game script. A catch for six yards earns 1.6 PPR points; a six-yard carry earns 0.6. If Monangai takes more early-down work while Swift does not recover his early-season target pace, there is less room for Swift to survive an ordinary touchdown year.
Our scoring boards reflect that concern without turning it into a fade. Swift is RB19 in PPR, and his overall placement remains in the same broad range in half-PPR and standard. He is not a player whose value collapses outside full PPR. The point is narrower: his 2025 receiving decline prevents us from projecting a larger PPR jump off the career rushing line.
Chicago has room to keep both backs busy
Ben Johnson remains the head coach and play caller, while Press Taylor was promoted to offensive coordinator. Continuity matters here. Chicago does not need to invent a two-back plan; it already ran one successfully enough for Swift and Monangai to combine for 1,870 rushing yards.
The schedule is neutral rather than a major selling point. Our opponent-based calculation places the Bears' 2026 rushing schedule near the middle of the league. Their bye arrives in Week 10, which is inconvenient for seasonal lineups but safely before the fantasy playoffs.
The offense also has reasons to lean on its backs. DJ Moore is gone, and the passing group now asks Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Colston Loveland to carry larger roles. That can create short targets for Swift, but it can also keep the balanced structure that gave Monangai 187 touches as a rookie. “More offense” does not automatically mean “more Swift.”
The honest wrinkle is touchdown regression
Swift scored ten total touchdowns in 2025, matching the best total of his career. His first four Chicago touchdowns in 2024 all came on the ground, but he finished that season with six combined scores. If 2026 lands between those years, the receiving workload has to rebound for him to beat 209.1 projected points.
There is an upside version. Swift missed one game, averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and remained productive after the midpoint. If Chicago gives him another 220 carries and restores even part of the early target volume, RB19 could be conservative. Johnson explicitly said Swift is capable of more in the Bears' own preview.
The downside is not that Swift loses the job. It is that Monangai keeps enough rushing work to limit Swift's ceiling while the targets settle closer to the late-season pace. That outcome would leave Swift dependent on touchdowns to justify a fourth-round selection.
The verdict
Swift is fairly priced around pick 46. We would take him at the end of the fourth round as an RB2, especially after starting a draft with receivers, but we would not chase him into the third. His rushing role is stable; his receiving role is the variable.
See Swift's live projection and history on his player profile, or compare him with every running back on the complete 2026 board.
Sources and data notes
- Ball Ranks board, season history, weekly splits, depth chart, and schedule calculation: August 29, 2026 snapshot.
- Chicago Bears running back preview: 2025 tandem production and team comments on Swift's role.
- Chicago Bears depth chart: Swift listed first at running back as of August 26, 2026.