Bears Fans Are Going To Love Roschon Johnson
I am as fanatical about Texas football as the Bleacher Nation audience is about Chicago sports. I thought I could give some insight on the Bears fourth round pick, Roschon Johnson.
I think Bears fans are going to LOVE him.
There are certainly reasons why he was available in the fourth round. Obviously it starts with how much the running back position has been devalued in the draft. Johnson doesn’t have a singular home-run type trait as a player, but he is remarkably solid in everything he does on the football field.
What makes Johnson stand out is his toughness, selflessness, and leadership. Johnson was the sixth-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country in 2019. During his first year at Texas, the Longhorns had a rash of injuries at running back and Johnson agreed to move to help. Ingram split carries his freshman year with Keoantay Ingram and ran for 649 yards and seven touchdowns.
The following season Bijan Robinson arrived on campus and, understandably, from that point on Johnson was a backup at Texas. He never once complained. He never contemplated transferring. He stuck with Texas and did whatever the team needed from him. He served as an excellent backup. He was a more than willing pass blocker in the backfield. If you don’t believe me, just listen to Louis Riddick talk about him:
Roschon Johnson Stepped Up When Texas Needed Him To
In 2021 Texas suffered an embarrassing loss to Kansas in which Robinson dislocated his elbow and caused him to miss the final two games of the season. After losing to West Virginia in the penultimate game of the season, Texas was going to miss out on a bowl game regardless of what happened in the season finale against Kansas State.
That couldn’t have mattered less to Roschon. Texas mostly just ran the Wildcat offense with Johnson and he rushed 31 times for 179 yards in a 22-17 win. There was nothing at stake in the game, but that didn’t matter. He just wanted to do whatever it took to help his team win.
Johnson isn’t likely to be a star in the NFL, but he has a very good chance to play a variety of roles. He’ll fight for extra yards when he gets carries. He’ll give everything to keep the quarterback upright in pass protection. He’ll be a willing participant on special teams.
For a Bears team that has a young roster and a relatively new coaching staff, Johnson is the exact kind of player you want when you’re trying to establish a culture. For a fourth-round pick, this is the exact kind of player you want. Johnson is going to fit in very nicely in Chicago.
