Khalil Herbert looking to lead Bears backfield in 2023
The Chicago Bears have a new-look running back room in 2023. Following the departure of David Montgomery in free agency, Khalil Herbert is looking to lead a backfield that consists of some standout additions in D’Onta Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson.
While Herbert “wants to be the starter,” he understands the importance of having a strong group of running backs who are capable of handling the workload.
“You know how things go in the NFL now,” he said. “They’re doing things running back by committee. You need one, two, three really good guys that really carry the rock and you know there’s gonna be no drop-off. I feel like as a group, we’ve got a really strong group. We’ve got guys that can take it to the house at any given moment. So, I’m excited to see what we do.”
Herbert is coming off a productive sophomore season with the Bears, where he served as the No. 2 back to Montgomery. While Herbert had just 731 rushing yards, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry, which was the highest among qualifying running backs in 2022.
“He can really do a great job of hitting the home run,” coach Matt Eberflus said of Herbert. “He’s got great vision. He’s got great cut-back ability. He can take the ball outside and bounce it outside, but he’s really good at cutting it back when it’s there. We’re excited where he is.”
While it’s hard to ignore Herbert’s production from last season, he’ll face some stiff competition for the lead back role in this offense.
Foreman is coming off an impressive year with the Panthers, where he totaled 914 rushing yards and proved to be a reliable replacement for a departed Christian McCaffrey. Johnson stood in the tall shadow of Bijan Robinson at Texas, and there are many who have Johnson pegged to emerge as Chicago’s lead back by the end of his rookie season.
The Bears will once again deploy a committee approach at running back, where they also have the NFL’s most dangerous running quarterback at their disposal in Justin Fields. Safe to say, Chicago will be doing plenty of running again in 2023.
