I gotta start by letting those of you who don’t already know who I am that I am an unabashed Chicago Bears fan. Some people will tell you that I am a homer who will constantly overrate players. I think those people never saw me five years ago when I avoided Bears players because there is nothing worse than having your football team and your fantasy football teams sad at the same time. I will constantly preach the gospel of Justin Fields, but so does every player in the NFL. I think they are on an upward trajectory and I think this draft helped the Bears go a long way into building perhaps the first good offensive roster in my lifetime.
FULL CHICAGO DRAFT RESULTS
| Rd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 10 | Darnell Wright | OT | Tennessee |
| 2 | 22 | Gervon Dexter Sr. | DT | Florida |
| 2 | 25 | Tyrique Stevenson | CB | Miami |
| 3 | 1 | Zacch Pickens | DT | South Carolina |
| 4 | 13 | Roschon Johnson | RB | Texas |
| 4 | 31 | Tyler Scott | WR | Cincinnati |
| 5 | 13 | Noah Sewell | LB | Oregon |
| 5 | 30 | Terell Smith | CB | Minnesota |
| 7 | 1 | Travis Bell | DT | Kennesaw State |
| 7 | 41 | Kendall Williamson | DB | Stanford |
Round 4, Pick 115 Overall: Roschon Johnson, Running Back, Texas (6’0” 219 lbs)
Depth Chart:
RB1: D’Onta Foreman
RB2: Khalil Herbert
RB3: Roschon Johnson
RB4: Travis Homer
TALENT
Roschon Johnson was an interesting prospect to evaluate because he was the second-best running back on his college team by a mile. Bijan is the best rookie in this draft for fantasy football purposes, as I’ve already mentioned. There were plenty of scouts who said that if he had played at any other school, Roschon would have been drafted much higher.
I personally found Roschon to be a guy who was good at everything. He blocked well, he caught the ball well, and he averaged over 6 yards per carry when he was rushing. I also feel that while Johnson’s tape showed an incredibly athletic player, it also showed a guy who needs a bit more work in the running game. At times, Roschon was an inefficient runner. He has good feet, but they’re a bit happy. This is something that can be cleaned up with good coaching and is to be expected considering Roschon is a converted quarterback who has only played the position a few years.
Roshon runs with a low center of gravity and he runs with power. While he has some initial burst and decent change of direction Johnson does not have top-end speed. However, it was incredibly difficult for defenders to bring Roschon down. Honestly, he was just a fun running back to watch. Especially when he got to hit someone. I can see why teams fell in love with him, even though I prefer more speed in my running backs.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
The Bears running back room is very murky. This offseason, the Bears signed D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer. The Bears already had Khalil Herbert and Trestan Ebner on their roster. So the question is: Where does Roschon Johnson fit into this situation?
The thing that Roschon Johnson has going for him is that he does everything well. Tashard Choice, the running back coach at Texas, said of Roschon , “he was the best running back I have ever coached away from the football.” That is significant because the more you can do on the football field, the more playing time you can have. When compared to the Bears’ other running backs, Roschon is the only guy without a serious flaw.
D’Onta Foreman is a solid running back, but in five NFL seasons, the most targets he has had in the passing game is 11. Khalil Herbert is a very good zone runner. He can cut and has the speed to gash people in the running game. Herbert can catch, although I wish he were a more dangerous receiver. What Herbert cannot do is block. That is a problem because your ability to block is going to directly correlate to the amount of time you spend on an NFL field. There is no clear-cut starter on the Bears roster, so there will be plenty of opportunities for Roschon Johnson to take control of that backfield.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
The player that Roschon Johnson feels the most similar to is former Bears running back David Montgomery. Montgomery was a Swiss army knife. Like Roschon, Montgomery was an excellent blocker, he caught the ball incredibly well, and he was a solid running back. It is no coincidence that Montgomery was on the field for 60.83% of the team’s snaps, with Khalil Herbert only logging 29.11% of the team snaps despite being a better fit for the offense schematically.
It is also worth noting that Khalil Herbert was not drafted by the current Bears regime and D’Onta Foreman is only on a one-year contract. If you listen to the Bears’ front office talk about Roschon Johnson, they were positively glowing. Roschon Johnson is going to be given every opportunity to win the starting job for the Bears this season.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 4, Pick 133 Overall: Tyler Scott, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati (5’10” 177 lbs)
Depth Chart:
WR1: D.J. Moore
WR2: Darnell Mooney
WR3: Chase Claypool
WR4: Tyler Scott
TALENT
As I mentioned when I was talking about Roschon Johnson, I like speed in my running backs. I also like speed in my wide receivers, and Tyler Scott has that in abundance. Scott knows how to use his speed to turn around defenders and absolutely punish them in the deep passing game. His deep game is really superb. Scott knows how to track the ball well in the air and he has some hops.
While Scott’s boundary routes are very good, his inside routes leave a little bit to be desired. Scott rounds off his routes a lot and relies on his speed to create separation instead of just planting a foot and cutting suddenly. He won’t be able to get away with that at the NFL level, but if Scott cleans this up he will be a nightmare for defenders at the next level because he has a very good first step and can be fast out of breaks.
While he has great change of direction, there is absolutely no power to Tyler Scott’s game. If he gets behind defenders, it is over for them. If Scott is in front of them, he will not break tackles. Overall, Scott is a player who could be very exciting at the next level if he cleans a few things up.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
Unlike the Bears’ running back room, the top three receivers for the Bears are very clearly defined. Before free agency started, the Bears traded down from the number one pick and acquired D.J. Moore, who is a bonafide WR1. Last season, they traded their second-rounder to acquire Chase Claypool. For the past two years, Darnell Mooney has been the Bears leading receiver in yards per game.
After this year, both Claypool and Mooney are free agents. It is likely that only one of them is resigned in the offseason. I think the drafting of Scott is a clear indication that the Bears consider him the heir apparent to Mooney, especially considering Mooney is still recovering from a fractured ankle. All indications are that Mooney is on track to be ready for training camp.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
All of the above does not bode well for Tyler Scott to have an immediate impact in his rookie season unless he absolutely lights up training camp. Scott is a very athletic guy with just too many bodies ahead of him to trust him to have an immediate impact in fantasy football. Scott is someone you should flag in case injuries give him a bump in opportunity, but for the most part, his fantasy football impact won’t happen until the 2024 season.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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