The NFC North has been the home of some of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL over the years, and that certainly remains the case as we turn our attention toward the 2025 campaign now that draft season is upon us.
One of those longtime rivalries that has been rejuvenated in a major way by a coaching change is the one between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. As all Lions fans know by now, the Bears attempted to reboot their abysmal offense by hiring Ben Johnson away from Dan Campbell's staff in Detroit in hopes he could light a spark with the Bears, much like he did for the Lions.
While Johnson may have left Motor City for the Windy City to try his hand at being a head coach, he is also attempting to bring one particular scheme that enjoyed great success during his tenure in Detroit. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Johnson and the Bears are hoping and praying for Boise State Broncos standout Ashton Jeanty to fall to Chicago's pick at No. 10 overall in hopes that he, coupled with veteran running back De'Andre Swift, could provide the same sort of boost to the offense that Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomeny have successfully done for Detroit.
"There are multiple personnel people who believe the Bears are praying that Jeanty slips to them at No. 10," Schefter wrote. "They think new Bears coach Ben Johnson could feature Jeanty and D'Andre Swift as a two-headed duo the way the Lions did with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs when Johnson was Detroit's offensive coordinator."
Regardless of where your allegiances lie when it comes to NFL fandom, one thing that everyone can seemingly agree on is the fact that Jeanty has the chance to be one of the more special running back prospects to hit the league in recent memory. The fact that he had more rushing yards after contact during the 2024 college football season than the next highest-rated rusher in this draft class had in total yards gained for the campaign is absolutely ridiculous and a testament to why the position is being valued so highly at the top of the draft this year when that hasn't been the case in recent memory.
Establishing a dynamic rushing attack like the one featured by the Lions is quite the task to take on, but if there is anyone who would be able to pull it off, then it would be the mastermind behind what Detroit built during Johnson's tenure with the organization.
Even though it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Johnson working to employ similar tactics to those seen with the Lions, Detroit fans should find some solace in the fact that no team will be better prepared to defend this sort of Johnson-led attack than the Lions.
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but it is safe to say that Lions fans hope this version of Johnson's attempt to recreate the ground game he had in Detroit crashes and burns.