NFL offseason power rankings: No. 15 Chicago Bears hire Ben Johnson to change their history
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, there was plenty of speculation that Caleb Williams wanted no part of the Chicago Bears. Everyone smiled and played nice when the team made it clear he'd be the pick, but the old issues came to light again this offseason.
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"Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," said Caleb's father Carl Williams, according to an ESPN excerpt of Seth Wickersham's book "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback."
The feathers that had settled were ruffled again with that comment. But it was also impossible to deny that Carl Williams was entirely spot-on.
Chicago, which hasn't had an All-Pro quarterback since 1950, has been where quarterbacks' careers go to die. Williams' upside case died a little bit as he struggled last season behind a terrible offensive line and even worse coaching. The only good thing to come out of last season was that the Bears seemed to finally wake up and address the underlying issues that led Carl Williams to see if there was a way to circumvent the draft and steer his son way from a franchise that has never figured out the modern passing game.
The Bears seemed reluctant to pay top dollar in its coaching search when it started, but eventually paid Ben Johnson handsomely to leave his job as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. Johnson is one of the league's most respected play-callers and the Bears hope that leads to a big improvement for Williams. The Bears also revamped their offensive line and then drafted tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second round, giving the Bears a deep group of skill-position players.
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With an exciting offensive-minded coach, a good offensive line, a fun group of pass catchers and the No. 1 pick from the 2024 draft at quarterback, if the Bears can't get that elusive first 4,000-yard passing season, maybe the franchise is just doomed at the position.
[Get more Bears news: Chicago team feed]
While everyone has been quick to dunk on the Browns, Commanders, Panthers, Jets or some others for being among the NFL's truly dysfunctional franchises, the Bears haven't been any better. Winning a Super Bowl 40 years ago doesn't change that much, and the fact that the 1985 Bears are still the first topic of conversation in Chicago speaks to how bad the team has been since then. The Bears have won six playoff games in the 39 seasons since Super Bowl XX.
The problems have generally started at quarterback. Since 1963, the only two Bears quarterbacks to make the Pro Bowl were Jim McMahon in 1985 and Mitchell Trubisky in 2018. Trubisky made it as a replacement. The Bears' record for passing yards in a season is 3,838 by Erik Kramer in 1995. Chicago, which was one of the NFL's original teams in 1920, is the only team that has never had a 4,000-yard passer or a 30-touchdown season either. Last season Williams had 3,541 yards, and many of his surface stats were fine. He had some exciting flashes as a rookie, like when he almost rallied the Bears to a comeback win in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Williams also held the ball way too long, trying to do too much, a main reason he led the NFL with 68 sacks taken. Williams was fine, and it didn't help the perception of him that No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels was far ahead and an instant superstar.
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The Bears are again one of the darlings of the offseason and a popular pick to have a breakthrough, both on the team level and with their young quarterback. Now they have to actually do it. Johnson said one of the reasons he took the Chicago job was to work with Williams. He understands all of the history going against him and Williams, and he's undaunted.
'I love it. I love it. I love the opportunity to come on in and change that narrative,' Johnson said. 'That's where great stories are written."
Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears talks with head coach Ben Johnson during an offseason practice. (Photo by)
(Michael Reaves via Getty Images)
Offseason grade
Make all the jokes about the Bears being back-to-back offseason champs. Last year everyone gushed about the Bears' moves, forgetting that coaching and offensive line play matters too. This year the Bears had another impressive offseason on paper. The coaching was presumably fixed with Ben Johnson coming aboard. The offensive line got a complete makeover. Center Drew Dalman was signed from the Falcons for $42 million over three years. The Bears traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and both have been Pro Bowl performers. Chicago also signed some defensive help with pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo ($48 million over three years) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett ($42.75 million over three years). That's how you improve both lines. The draft got good reviews, with the team adding to Caleb Williams' weapons with tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and receiver Luther Burden III in the second. There weren't any significant losses either. It would be a surprise if this set of moves don't lead to a notable improvement.
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Grade: A
Quarterback report
Caleb Williams was uneven as a rookie, with his base stats (20 touchdowns, six interceptions) belying that there was a lot to work on within his game. Were the issues due to Williams' flaws or poor coaching? We should find out more this season. Ben Johnson is working with Williams on everything, including better body language, which was bad at times last season as he was getting hit and the Bears were losing. He also took way too many sacks and was inaccurate on deep throws.
Johnson ran a tremendous offense with the Lions, finishing among the NFL's top five in points scored and yards gained in each of his three seasons as offensive coordinator. Last season the Lions scored 564 points, which led the NFL and was the fourth-most in league history. But Johnson acknowledges the Bears have different personnel, starting with the quarterback, and his approach has to change with it.
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"He is a phenomenal talent that had, as many quarterbacks do, an up-and-down rookie year," Johnson said when he was introduced as the team's new head coach, via NFL.com. "Where I see my role is as a supporter of him. This offense will be calibrated with him in mind. We're going to build this thing — this is not simply a dropping of a previous playbook and starting there. No, we're ripping this thing down to the studs, and we're going to build it out with him first and foremost, and then the pieces around him next. I really look forward to challenging him and pushing him, as I said before, to continue to grow and develop."
BetMGM odds breakdown
From Yahoo's Ben Fawkes: 'With a new head coach in Ben Johnson and additions on offense (drafted Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, added Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman on o-line), the pieces are in place for second-year QB Caleb Williams to take a leap. Make no mistake: This team will go only as far as Williams takes them. The Bears are a big underdog (+155) to make the playoffs at BetMGM and their win total of 8.5 is shaded to the under, so oddsmakers and the betting public think a wild-card berth may still be a year away. It doesn't help that Chicago plays in arguably the league's best division in the NFC North. The Bears are projected to be favored in only seven games this season."
Yahoo's fantasy take
From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: "The market has been cool to Colston Loveland so far, and I think that's the right call. Although Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers both had dynamic rookie years in the past two seasons, it's likely a mistake to apply their success to the Chicago situation. Consider that Loveland steps into a crowded situation for pass catchers (the Bears have a slew of good wideouts and even a respectable other tight end in Cole Kmet). And we still need some proof that Caleb Williams can play in this league — he had a horrible sack problem last year, and generally sack problems are mostly about the quarterback, not other things. Even if I wind up drafting two tight ends on some roster builds, Loveland is not a player I'm targeting."
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Stat to remember
The Bears allowed 5.9 yards per play last season. The only team to give up more per play was Carolina, a horrible defense that allowed the most points in NFL history. It was a clear step back for a unit that came into last season with high hopes. Chicago's defense had a strong second half in 2023, which was somewhat comically attributed to trading for defensive end Montez Sweat during the season, and it crashed a bit last season. In 2023, the Bears allowed 27.3 points in the eight games before trading for Sweat and 17.9 in the nine games after the deal. Then last season Chicago allowed 21.8 points per game and 354.2 yards per game, which ranked 27th in the NFL. The Bears were second to last in net yards per pass attempt allowed, as the pass rush dried up. The Bears added some pieces up front to their defense, and the secondary was steady last season, so perhaps there's a rebound coming with former Saints head coach Dennis Allen getting back to what he does best as Chicago's new defensive coordinator. There has been plenty of talk about the Bears' offense this offseason and rightfully so, but Chicago probably won't be a playoff contender if its defense isn't better, regardless of how many strides its offense makes.
Burning question
How will the Bears split up touches?
Unless Ben Johnson is seriously creative, there still remains just one ball in play for each NFL offense. That presents an issue. How will the Bears keep all their skill-position players happy? DJ Moore looks like the No. 1 option, though he won't be a target hog like Malik Nabers or CeeDee Lamb. He'll need to share first with Rome Odunze, the ninth overall pick of last year's draft who had a fairly quiet rookie season but plenty of potential. There is also Luther Burden III, who might not see the field much if the Bears rely on two tight end sets with rookie Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet. Burden missed time in the offseason program due to a soft tissue injury, which seemed to irk Johnson. And don't forget that the Lions loved running the ball with Johnson in charge. That means someone among D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson or rookie Kyle Monangai — maybe all three in a fairly unimpressive running back room — could be a big part of the offense too. Having plenty of capable offensive players is a good problem to have, and it will be interesting to see how the pie is split up.
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Best-case scenario
Maybe the Bears need an injection of swagger. Ben Johnson came in swinging when he was hired, as he explained wanting to stay in the NFC North.
"And to be quite frank with ya, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year," Johnson said, referring to the Packers' head coach.
It's a lot easier for a coach to win the news conference and the offseason than win games in the fall. But a few months after Johnson was a highly coveted head-coaching candidate — he was last year too before backing out and staying with Detroit — the Bears have no reason to believe they made the wrong hire. It seems like Johnson's transition to being a head coach is going well. Plenty of NFL Coach of the Year winners have been rookies who take over after the previous coach was dragging the franchise down, and the turnaround leads to a playoff berth and impresses voters. It's easy to see Johnson in that role, helping Williams to a big season, a talented Bears roster to the postseason and perhaps an NFC North title if everything breaks right. Williams can't even be discounted as a long-shot MVP candidate this season (Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are recent MVPs who won in their second seasons). If this all hits for Chicago, it might hit really big.
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Nightmare scenario
Through an all-time heist of a trade with the Panthers, the Bears positioned themselves perfectly to take Caleb Williams with the first overall pick of last year's draft, the first time they'd selected first since 1947. They got a supreme prospect who could lift them out of a decades-long quarterback rut. But what if Williams isn't great? No quarterback should be judged after only two seasons. But it's not like the Bears haven't done a lot to put Williams in a good situation for Year 2. If Williams struggles this season when he's surrounded by Ben Johnson, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Drew Dalman, Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, what's next year's move? There wouldn't be many viable excuses for Williams, unless injuries hit hard this season. And if we get to the end of Williams' second season and he doesn't look like a viable franchise quarterback — not necessarily a finished product and a star, but promising enough that everyone understands the arrow is clearly pointed up — that would be alarming. The Bears have spent a lot of resources to get the most out of Williams. They need to see tangible progress.
The crystal ball says
The Bears are the first NFC North team to appear on the rankings countdown, but the toughest division in the league isn't separated by that much. It feels like any team could finish first (and any team could finish last as well). Caleb Williams will have a nice growth season. Ben Johnson is a sharp offensive mind and Williams has plenty of talent and a good cast around him. But it's possible for the Bears to be much better, look like they're on the right path and still finish last. The division is that good. Let's say the Bears stay in playoff contention until late in the season but fall short, and then Chicago goes into the 2026 season as one of the more hyped teams in the NFL ... a role it should be used to by now.
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