4 takeaways from Bears' joint practice with Miami Dolphins

Here are four takeaways for Bears fans after Friday's joint practice.

1. Ben Johnson is a leader of men

Before the Bears hired Ben Johnson, there was a ridiculous notion shared by some in the NFL world that Johnson could not succeed as a head coach because he was not 'a leader of men'. They looked at Johnson and assumed he does nothing but sit in a dark room and brood over play designs without ever actually leading, inspiring, or coaching.

It was always an absurd assessment. Just because Johnson is not as tall and jacked as Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, for example, doesn't mean he's a pushover. Bears fans have seen that all throughout the summer, and now the Miami Dolphins, their fans, and their beat writers have seen that, too. This Bears team has run some of the most physical practices of the last 20 years according to long-time beat writer Brad Biggs and it showed on Friday as the Bears routinely outmuscled the Dolphins.

2. Dennis Allen's defense may be Chicago's best since 2018

As mentioned above, the Bears' defense thumped the Dolphins' offense all day. Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald reported Tremaine Edmunds swinging a Dolphins running back "like a rag doll" and succinctly described Miami's efforts on offense in the below tweet.

This is what great NFL defenses do. They not only get takeaways and big plays (which Chicago had in bunches in practice), they completely demoralize the opponents. Great defenses inflict so much aggression on the opponent that mistakes begin to compound and frustrations boil over into carelessness. If this is a preview of the defense we'll be getting in 2025, then Bears fans could be looking at a true return to the Monsters of the Midway.

3. Olamide Zaccheaus close to securing the WR3 role

There's been a ton of hype for rookie Luther Burden III and what he brings as a receiver to Ben Johnson's offense, and for good reason, but Zaccheaus may be close to locking up that WR3 spot. He's flashed almost every day in training camp, both with quarterback Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent, and had arguably the best play of the day on Friday when he caught a dart from Williams and took it all the way to the house.

There's still a long way to go before the season starts, but the depth chart for receivers sure seems to be falling into place with Zaccheaus right behind D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze.

4. Injury updates

After leaving Thursday's practice early, right tackle Darnell Wright was back in on Friday, so he should be fine. There was another brief scare when defensive tackle Andrew Billings limped off the field following a pileup, but he also returned moments later. Both players are essential to Chicago's trenches being up to snuff in 2025, so it's good to see they avoided major injury.

As for the secondary, Jaylon Johnson remains out. The last we heard from Ben Johnson was a concerning update that confirmed Jaylon Johnson is still weeks away. Kyler Gordon did not practice either after having left Thursday's practice early himself. Those will be two key injury situations to monitor as we get closer to opening night at Soldier Field.