Were NFL execs right to leave D’Andre Swift off 2026 list?

For a player coming off a career year, and with Ben Johnson putting him in the best position to succeed again, that reads like a snub. In context, it’s more of a temperature check on how the league currently views him, and it isn’t entirely unfair.

What the ranking tells us

Lists sourced from evaluators tend to reward recent, sustained impact and dependability. If a back hasn’t stacked consistent, high-volume seasons or has an unsettled role, he slides behind runners with steadier resumes. Swift didn’t make the cut, which signals a consensus that he enters 2026 with more to prove than many of his peers.

That aligns with where Swift stands in Chicago. It feels like he's at a crossroads this summer, and training camp will define how he’s deployed when the Bears open the season against the Panthers. It’s a pivotal window to recalibrate league perception.

Is the omission fair?

It’s defensible. Not because Swift lacks talent, but because the most coveted traits in today’s RB evaluations are consistency, availability, and reliability in money downs. Swift’s profile entering camp is heavy on potential in a new year and lighter on recent, unquestioned bell-cow usage.

There’s also the schematic backdrop. The Bears are led by head coach Ben Johnson, whose approach has been framed as trend-forward. He'll focus on matchup-driven backfield usage. If Johnson continues to lean into weekly matchups, which makes preseason certainty about Swift’s volume tough for outsiders to project.

Chicago context that matters

Two recent threads reinforce why evaluators might hesitate to elevate Swift right now:

• Role clarity: The Bears' offense won't be a one-back, every-down system. That ambiguity impacts Swift's national outl

• Prove-it summer: Local chatter has framed 2026 as a critical year for Swift’s trajectory. Kyle Monangai could realistically become the Bears' RB1 with a strong training camp.

The bottom line

Calling ESPN’s omission of Swift a “snub” oversimplifies where he stands. It’s a reasonable ranking for July, shaped by uncertainty about role and recent week-to-week dominance. But it’s also fluid. A crisp camp and a fast start in September — inside a Bears offense that should be even better in Year 2 under Ben Johnson — will move evaluators quickly. Swift’s talent gives him a path back onto these lists.