Should You Start D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, or Roschon Johnson vs. the Titans in Fantasy Football Week 1?

The addition of D’Andre Swift to a Chicago Bears backfield that already has Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson could cause some fantasy managers to hesitate putting one of these players into their starting lineup for Week 1.

Which Bears RB should you start on your fantasy team entering their matchup against the Tennessee Titans?

Should You Start D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, or Roschon Johnson This Week?

In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say that Swift is the player to start. His projected 10.6 points include 37 rushing yards, three receptions, and 19 yards.

That doesn’t seem like a big stat line, but it outperforms the consensus projections for Johnson (5.7 points) and Herbert (5.6 points).

My ranking for the three Bears running backs aligns with the consensus for a multitude of reasons.

The Bears defense isn’t likely to have a ton of success on the ground against a Tennessee Titans defense that was very stingy to finish the 2023 NFL season. Over the final three games of the year, the Titans allowed just 83.7 rushing yards per game — which was the lowest mark in the league during that span.

The combination of Jeffrey Simmons, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and Harold Landry is now joined by a freightliner-sized anchor in T’Vondre Sweat — who figures to demand double-teams to physically remove him from the A-gap at 6’4″ and 366 pounds.

In other words, I do have some questions about how effectively the Bears will run the ball in this contest, regardless of who the preferred ball carrier is to start the season.

This brings us appropriately to trying to project which back will lead this team in touches in Week 1.

I do believe the betting favorite should be Swift, who the team signed almost immediately when free agency started earlier this year. Swift is coming off of his healthiest and most productive year as a rusher, with a career-high 1,049 rushing yards last year as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Additionally, we know Swift is a viable weapon as a pass catcher out of the backfield, given his 156 receptions over a three-year span with the Detroit Lions to start his career.

As for the other two Chicago backs, Herbert likely has the small advantage over Johnson to see more work in a complementary role in this contest while Johnson is working through a toe injury. Johnson was limited in practice on Wednesday.

If the Bears are forced to rely on rookie QB Caleb Williams throwing the ball regularly to sustain drives, I would imagine Swift will likely see an expanded role in passing situations with his reliable hands and Herbert’s struggles in pass protection.

The one area that Herbert or Johnson could become a fantasy factor for Week 1 would be in goal-line situations. Swift was regularly bypassed as a short-yardage option during his days with the Lions and Eagles, which could open the door for the slightly bigger Johnson in these scenarios.

Ultimately, Swift is the Bears RB you should start in Week 1, but I would temper my fantasy expectations for this entire backfield against Tennessee.

Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook for Swift in Week 1

D’Andre Swift: The Bears’ new RB1 is my favorite running back in this game, but I’m struggling with assigning him anything more than a low-end RB2, high-end Flex grade. The Titans allowed the eighth fewest yards per carry before contact to running backs last season, and that was where Swift thrived as a Philadelphia Eagle.

Leaders in carries with 5+ yards gained before contact, 2023:

• Lamar Jackson: 47
• Christian McCaffrey: 42
• Swift: 39

Tennessee also owned the best red-zone defense in all the land a season ago, making a bailout touchdown a tough bet. I think Swift is more dynamic than the Zamir White/Devin Singletary tier that I have ahead of him, but the touchdown equity of options like Raheem Mostert/David Montgomery keeps them ahead.