Is Roschon Johnson A Good Fantasy Football Pickup for Week 2? Waiver Wire Outlook

There's a quote by the late John Madden that goes “If you've got two quarterbacks, you have none.” In fantasy football, if you have three running backs taking work in the same backfield, you have none.

It's extremely rare that even two running backs from the same team are productive enough to find a permanent spot in your lineup. In Chicago, Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, and Roschon Johnson essentially split the backfield snaps in thirds in Week 1.

All the reports in the offseason and training camp told us that this would likely be the case. But if you hung around through the blowout in Chicago, you noticed Johnson gave the team a little juice. With it, could come more opportunities.

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Is Johnson worth a spot on your roster and should you use a waiver wire claim on him? Let's weigh the pros and cons.

What Did Roschon Johnson Do In Week 1?

The rookie out of Texas ended up with the highest snap share (39%) out of the trio in Week 1. In those snaps, he rushed the ball five times for 20 yards and a touchdown, plus six catches for 35 yards.

17.5 PPR fantasy points are nothing to scoff at, especially with a limited role in Week 1.

Were There Any Worrying Signs With Roschon Johnson In Week 1?

The troubling part of Johnson's final stat line is when those opportunities came. The score quickly got away from the Bears in the second half which is when the rookie saw all of his work.

Khalil Herbert started the game and received the first five touches out of the backfield. Foreman was the second back off the bench. Johnson did not receive a single touch in the first half.

Should I Pick Up Roschon Johnson Off the Waiver Wire in Fantasy Football?

Roschon Johnson is a talented running back but he's never gotten the chance to fully show it. At the University of Texas, Johnson played second fiddle to Bijan Robinson. The fourth-round pick did not crack 100 carries in his final three years in Austin but averaged 5.7 yards per attempt.

Even the more casual football fan could see that Johnson was running with the most energy out of the three backs in Week 1. He also offers skills in the passing game that Foreman lacks. Herbert is the starter but was not selected by this regime, so coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles have no real ties to the 2021 sixth-round pick.

Johnson is worthy of a roster spot in all leagues. Bears' coaches should already be realizing that they need to get the rookie more involved and Johnson will improve as his debut season progresses. He's not a starter for fantasy rosters yet until the Bears figure out their backfield rotation (or, really, their offense as a whole).

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