As the Chicago Bears look for more offense under new head coach Ben Johnson, the team met with Ashton Jeanty at the NFL combine. Holding the No. 10 overall pick, the Bears would seemingly be in a solid spot to land the Boise State star.
Chicago wasn’t the only team Jeanty met with. Widely considered the best running back in the 2025 class, most teams with a need at running back will try to meet with him. However, seeing how Johnson utilized his running backs with the Detroit Lions makes the Bears’ Jeanty meeting significant.
Since it was just at the combine, Chicago didn’t have long with the running back. However, they got an initial understanding of who Jeanty is as a player and person. Spearheaded by running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, Jeanty saw his first impression of the Chicago Bears as well, via CHGO Bears.
“It went great,” Jeanty said. “Talking with coach Bieniemy. Talking football, talking about my life. It was a great meeting. It was great meeting with all of them.”
RB Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State talks about meeting with the Chicago Bears, Eric Bieniemy, and whether or not teams should draft a RB in the Top 10 in a deep RB draft class. pic.twitter.com/FITmNR3Wss
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) February 28, 2025
Ashton Jeanty makes first-round case
Jeanty went on to use Saquon Barkley’s dominant 2024 season as an example of why team’s shouldn’t be afraid to use a top 10 pick on a running back. Barkley helped led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl by running for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“Obviously there’s a need for a lot of teams at running back, wherever they feel necessary to draft,” Jeanty said. “I think it has been shown, this year by the Eagles, Saquon Barkley, that a great running back can help your team out a lot.”
Dating back to 2020, the only running back taken in the first-round was Bijan Robinson, who went to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 in 2023. That is both a testament to how teams felt about the running back talent, but also the overall assessments of running backs at large. The league has seen undrafted free agents and unheralded players break out as great running backs. Some feel it isn’t worth it to invest a high pick at the position.
But Ashton Jeanty isn’t one of those people. He knows first hand just how important a strong running back is to a team’s offense. One of the most hyped up backs in recent memory, Jeanty wants to add his name to the record books as a top 10 selection.
How Jeanty fits Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears already have an established running back in D’Andre Swift. He has already received an endorsement from Johnson. However, it’s clear the Bears need a bit more firepower in their running back room to match up offensively.
In his first year in Chicago, Swift ran for 959 yards and six touchdowns on 253 carries. He added another 386 yards on 42 grabs through the air. The running back averaged just 3.8 yards per carry as the Bears fell to 28th in rushing, averaging 136.3 yards per game. Swift is still a play maker and should have a major role on the team. But Jeanty provides a bit more thunder to Swift’s lightning.
The running back took the college football world by storm in 2024, finishing runner up for the Heisman Trophy. Jeanty ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. He led the country and yardage and finished second in touchdowns, being named an All-American in the process.
Jeanty showed signs of a breakout in 2023, when he ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns. Now that he has proven he isn’t a fluke, Ashton Jeanty looks to be one of the most powerful backs in the NFL, before even taking a snap.
That would do wonders in a Ben Johnson-led offense. He used both Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery while with the Lions. Jeanty and Swift can be that combination with the Bears. The only question is if Jeanty will be available at No. 10 and if Chicago is willing to buck the trend and take a running back so early.
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