Welcome to Week 5 of the 2026 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: Choose the outcome below that best describes the dynamic between Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift for the rest of the 2026 season.
- Monangai will overtake Swift as the leader.
- Swift will remain the leader.
- It will be an even split all year.
Meng Song: As much as fantasy managers would love a clear answer, I'm not sure there will be one. Swift will remain the leader, but the "leader" of a frustrating "hot hand" committee that will make starting Monangai, Swift, both, or neither, a weekly headache.
This is both the genius and quandary of Ben Johnson's offensive scheme. Every skill-position player can be schemed open, so Johnson will call the number of the player(s) who have the best defensive matchups to exploit each week. It's the same reason Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland have been maddening sit/start decisions in fantasy thus far.
As a rookie in 2023 in Johnson's offense, Jahmyr Gibbs scored 10 rushing touchdowns, followed by 16 rushing touchdowns the following year. Over that same span, David Montgomery scored 13 rushing touchdowns in 2023 and 12 in 2024. In fact, Montgomery logged 17 carries inside the opponents' 5-yard line in each of those 2 seasons. Gibbs saw just 8 such carries in 2023 and just 15 goal-line carries in 2024.
The good news is that Gibbs was a fantasy RB1 in both of those years, even ceding so many high-value touches to Montgomery, who was a fantasy RB2 in both seasons. Swift and Monangai can likewise both eat in this Bears offense, but their fantasy production could be volatile week to week.
Gary Davenport: “Even” is a relative term—game flow and matchup are going to dictate shifts in the workload split between Swift and Monangai, and that’s going to mean more variance from week-to-week than fantasy managers would like in an ideal world.
But there’s no reason for Ben Johnson not to keep both backs heavily involved in the offense. Monangai has been more effective on the ground, averaging a robust 5.4 yards per carry. But Swift’s 4.5 yards per tote isn’t cat food, and Swift has been more involved in the passing game.
Right now, Chicago’s 159 carries through 4 games lead the NFL—and it ain’t close. When you’re averaging almost 40 (!) carries per contest and have two capable backs on the roster, it makes sense to make both a prominent part of the offense.
Maurile Tremblay: The most likely of the three outcomes is that D'Andre Swift stays the lead back. Chicago signed him to a three-year extension worth up to $33.75 million two days before the opener, effectively committing to him through 2029. Even after the uneven Jets game, he is on pace for about 1,322 rushing yards, which would top his career best.
The case for Monangai overtaking him is based on ball security. Monangai's 30 carries for 146 yards against the Jets came largely because Swift put the ball on the ground in the third quarter and did not play again; 18 of Monangai's carries were after that play. What should worry Swift's owners is that it was his second lost fumble in three weeks. A third could flip the ordering more permanently.
An even split all year is the least likely of the three because alternating by series has not been Ben Johnson's norm. The carry totals are close now largely because Swift was benched against the Jets. The default state is Swift leading, with Monangai as a high-end complement.