Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams Gifted Necessary Tools to Succeed
Caleb Williams is one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in Chicago Bears history. Half the fan base loves him, while the other half believes he is bust. Those in the latter camp still long for one of Justin Fields, Mitchell Trubisky, or egads, Tyson Bagent. Let’s face it, had Ryan Pace drafted Patrick Mahomes instead of Trubisky in 2017, the argument would be moot. Mahomes may not have led Chicago to seven consecutive championship games, but he’s not the best quarterback in football just because he plays for Andy Reid and the Chiefs.
This year, the Bears have had one of the quickest facelifts in team history, starting with the hiring of head coach Ben Johnson. Though he’s yet to man the home sideline at Soldier Field, he already feels like he’s won more games than Matt Eberflus. Johnson excelled as the offensive coordinator for the Lions, dialing up a high-scoring offense that led Detroit to the NFC North crown in 2024.
Johnson’s offense is predicated on having a stout offensive line, and the Bears completely rebuilt their interior this week. Chicago added guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney in trades with the Rams and Chiefs. GM Ryan Poles also signed stud center Drew Dalman in free agency. Those three are going to make tackles Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones look a lot better in 2025. That’s also quite an upgrade over Nate Davis, Lucas Patrick, Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, and Matt Pryor. The Bears were incapable of protecting Williams last season. Now, that offensive line no longer looks so soft, and quickly went from being the team’s worst position group to its best.
Jackson started 57 games for the Lions before signing with Los Angeles last spring. He was hurt most of last season, then asked to switch positions, and ultimately benched after 11 games. That said, he was a Pro Bowler in Johnson’s offense the year before. Jackson is only 26 years old and a potential stud at guard if he stays healthy.
Thuney is a two-time All-Pro at guard. The Chiefs moved him to left tackle down the stretch this past season due to their lack of options and he struggled. He’s a pitch-perfect technician at guard, however, and is coming off back-to-back first-team All-Pro seasons. Thuney has led the NFL in pass block win rate at guard every season since 2021.
Dalman started 40 games at center for the Falcons over the last three seasons. He is among the top offensive linemen in this year’s free agent pool, and was listed at No. 16 overall in Jim Sannes’ top-50 consensus board. Dalman had a 95.1% pass block win rate in 2024 (ninth among centers with at least 500 snaps) to go along with 10 pressures allowed on 295 pass-blocking snaps.
"Drew Dalman is a massive move for the Chicago Bears..
Ben Johnson realized what he had with that offensive line in Detroit" ~ @aqshipley #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/HVq0kRwzJ2
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 11, 2025
Thuney told Reid he wanted to play for Chicago. Dalman was offered more money elsewhere but wanted to play for Johnson. Imagine that: Players wanting to come to Chicago. That’s the type of respect the Bears’ new head coach commands among his peers. The Bears are now positioned nicely to go best player available in this year’s draft. They own four top 75 picks, including Nos. 10, 39, and 41.
Williams took 68 sacks last season, though not all were the fault of Chicago’s patchwork line. It’s safe to assume he will be upright much more in 2025. Williams should also see his sack rate decline from the 10.7% rate he logged in 2024 with Chicago’s line additions. Like most signal callers, the second-year quarterback excels when given a clean pocket.
There’s no doubt the Bears have committed a ton of resources to bolstering their line this offseason. Will it be enough to help Williams have a breakout sophomore season? As a rookie, Williams had a bit of an up and down year, especially compared to fellow first-year starter Jayden Daniels. Williams completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,541 yards and 20 scores with six INTs but struggled with accuracy on deep routes. Though that places him near the top of all Bears quarterbacks historically, it’s a bit milquetoast among current peers until you consider the following:
- The Bears cycled through two head coaches and three offensive coordinators.
- Chicago’s triumvirate of OCs somehow managed to completely ignore Tight End Cole Kmet.
- D’Andre Swift did not impact the Bears’ running game the way the coaches had hoped.
- Williams struggled to find chemistry and consistency with D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen.
- The offensive line looked completely lost at times, especially before Waldron was fired.
“D’Andre Swift is bad.”
Counterpoint: pic.twitter.com/sZIhYSVIo4
— Al Smizzle (@AlZeidenfeld) September 26, 2024
Williams entered the NFL as a quarterback who generated plenty of positive plays when extending and improvising with his legs. He certainly has the arm talent to make nearly every throw on the field, and having more trust and confidence in his offensive line to keep him upright could work wonders for his development in Johnson’s offense. Consider the work Johnson did to make Jared Goff a top-10 NFL quarterback. Goff has had three consecutive seasons of 4,000+ passing yards under Johnson’s tutelage. His 111.8 passer rating and 68.4 QBR were among the NFL’s best in 2024.
That means the arrow is pointing decidedly up for Williams entering the 2025 season. If he doesn’t succeed under Johnson and with his revamped offensive line, he’ll have nobody to blame but himself.
