4 burning questions for the 2025 Bears offense—Can Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson enter the NFL stratosphere?

The entire Bears operation got a springtime makeover, but there are enough holdovers from 2024 who suffered through the entire cluster-you-know-what that there's potential for some kind of NFL-PTSD deal.

• That said, entering their sophomore years, Odunze and quarterback Caleb Williams are young and unjaded enough to immediately put ’24 in their rearview mirrors, so no problem there.

• And at least 60% of Opening Day’s starting offensive line wasn’t in Chicago last season (lucky them), so all good there.

• And rookies are rookies, and thusly don’t particularly care about their new team’s immediate past.

There are a couple of notable players, however, who we might want to keep an eye on:

• Moore had a down 2024—he failed to top 1,000 yards for just the third time in his seven seasons—and he’s yet to play on a team that finished above .500. Plus there’s a chance he’ll see less targets in a Ben Johnson, share-the-ball offense.

• D’Andre Swift is in a similar position: Coming off of a blah season, and entering the summer with more positional competition, he might not be super-psyched about the landscape.

But beyond Moore and Swift, the offense should hit the ground running.

Will the Bears Fix the Running Back Position?

Based on their approach to free agency and the draft, it appears that Johnson and GM Ryan Poles are happy enough with Chicago’s backfield…and that’s concerning.

Admittedly, Swift was hamstrung by terrible schemes last season, and Roschon Johnson spent the year in and out of the medical ward; nonetheless, neither did anything that gives us a sense of optimism about the running back room.

There have been whispers about the Bears inking free agent Nick Chubb, plus former Lion (and former Ben Johnson bestie) Jamaal Williams popped over to Halas Hall for a visit, but we haven’t seen anything concrete, thus there’s a distinct possibility the team rolls into 2025 with a bottom-10 unit.

Who Will Be Caleb Williams’ Go-To Receiver?

Believe it or not, it’ll be Colston Loveland. And before you give me the side-eye, look at what Brock Bowers did in Las Vegas during his 2025 rookie year: Led the team in targets by a wide margin—24 more than Jakobi Meyers—yardage (1,194), and receiving touchdowns (5).

Granted, the 2025 Bears have a far better batch of receivers than 2024 Raiders, but a reliable pass catcher is a reliable pass catcher, and the rookie might be That Guy.

What Area of Williams’ Game Will See the Most Improvement?

I hope it’s his footwork, but I think it’ll be his ability to handle the speed of the pro game.

In addition to having the comfort of playing behind an actual NFL offensive line, Johnson will draw up his fair share of short passes for the USC product, which’ll open up things downfield, all of which will add up to a quarterback who can figure out when, where, and how to get rid of the ball quickly.

And, y’know, avoid getting sacked 68 times.