Historically, the Chicago Bears have arguably been defined by two things: their stout defenses that have carried them to success, and elite running back play, which has consistently been the bright spot on often mediocre offenses. When it comes to quarterback play, the Bears have arguably the worst luck in NFL history, boasting such legends as Rex Grossman, Jay Cutler and Jim McMahon as their most successful signal callers. However, when thinking of their most prominent running backs, some names that may come to mind are Walter “Sweetness” Payton, the late great Gale Sayers, Matt Forte and most recently, David Montgomery. When it comes to the tailback position, they have found a lot of success and often anchored their offense through a strong ground game. And now, with possibly their best quarterback in team history, the organization may have found their next great running back.
Background
Meet Roschon Johnson, a 22-year-old 6’0, 225 lb running back out of the University of Texas. Roschon has spent his whole life in Texas, being born in Port Arthur, 250 miles from where he would play college ball for the Longhorns. His father, Ronald Johnson, loved sports and encouraged his children at a young age to participate in them. So when Ronald saw potential in his youngest son, he was more than enthusiastic to enroll Roschon into football programs at a young age. Roschon was never defiant and always wanted to learn more about football from his father and others. For as long as he has played the sport, he has been a student of the game. At Port Neches-Groves High School, Roschon would spend his junior and senior year as the starting quarterback. That’s right – Roschon was a superstar dual-threat high school QUARTERBACK. But don’t take the term “dual-threat” lightly. Roschon was a great quarterback, throwing for 35 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in his junior year and 24 touchdowns in his senior year. But his rushing ability was something special for someone playing the quarterback position. His junior year he rushed for an insane 1,627 yards and 29 touchdowns and senior year he rushed for 1,623 and 26 touchdowns. This earned him the team leading rusher title for both seasons and second all time rusher in Port Neches-Grove history. For him to achieve this as a quarterback is no fluke: he has always had a great ability to use his legs, and he put that on display even when he was a signal caller.
Production
Scouts realized Roschon’s potential, and he was listed as a 4 star recruit and the #6 dual-threat QB in the country. He would stay close to home for college, committing to the Texas Longhorns. However, playing QB in college is much harder than playing in high school, as many prominent high school quarterbacks struggle to find any success in the college atmosphere. Roschon wasn’t on track to be the Longhorns quarterback, and it was very probable that his college career wouldn’t become anything notable if he decided to stay on the team as a backup QB, turning out like many other failed college quarterbacks. However, his coach Tom Hermon had an idea. Hermon recognized Roschon’s skills as an exceptional runner. Roschon was big, agile and an efficient runner in high school, and with injuries to other Longhorns playing the running back position, Hermon convinced Roschon to convert to running back, a decision which would highly benefit Roschon’s career. Roschon would be RB2 for four years in Texas, mostly playing behind future top 10 NFL draft pick Bijan Robinson, and as Longhorn fans would tell you, the two were ELECTRIC. Bijan consistently had high yardage seasons, but Roschon impressed as an RB2 as well. A combination of size and acceleration as a runner, Roschon compiled 2,190 yards and 23 touchdowns on 392 carries, and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. For reference, 4.0 is considered solid for a running back to average per carry. Playing in front of stacked crowds every Saturday, the two running backs became fan favorites. Fans weren’t the only ones who noticed them though. As their college careers progressed, college scouts started to notice them. Undoubtedly, Bijan had much more star appeal and was seen as a sure fire first rounder, but Roschon was identified by many teams and analysts as a solid big bodied back that would be available on days 2 and 3. The Chicago Bears were one of these teams and they selected him with the 115th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Traits
But why is Roschon so special? He has two vital traits: Size and Speed. Now he isn’t a hefty running back like Jerome Bettis, but he isn’t average RB size either. With a 6’0 225 lb build, he has been described as a smaller Derrick Henry, which is not a bad thing. Similar to the 2020 Offensive Player of the Year, he has the upper body strength and power to shake off defenders, but also great acceleration and can get to the second level well. And once he gains momentum, it only gets harder to take him down, a valuable trait in today’s NFL. Notably, he is also useful in the blocking game more so than most of the running backs in the NFL due to his build and above average strength. Simply put, Roschon isn’t scared to knock some guys down on his way to the endzone, and he’s going to get there fast. Even if he doesn’t, he’ll get a good chunk of yardage to help his team move the chains and drive down the field. And compared to the rest of the league, he highly resembles Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb, two of the most physical and dominant running backs playing in the league today. Roschon is currently listed as the 3rd string running back on the Bears depth chart, similar to his situation in college, but it’s only a matter of time until Luke Getsy gives him a larger role in the offense and he becomes the undisputed RB1. And with a dual threat QB on a team that led the league in rushing yards during the 2022 Season, the Bears have a chance to dominate the league on both the ground and through the air for not just next year, but the years after that. With Roschon alongside Justin Fields, D.J. Moore and a revamped offensive line, the Bears should see effective production out of him immediately, and if they play their cards right, they’ll soon bring home a second Lombardi.
