Questions still remain for Ben Johnson's offense in Chicago with answers hopefully set to present themselves during Bears' training camp
The Chicago Bears' offense took major strides of improvement throughout OTAs and minicamp after starting the offseason program off a little shaky, as many expected.Ben Johnson's offense is a complicated scheme and his attention to detail coaching mindset takes everyone a while to fully get a grasp of what's going on for any play.By the […]
The Chicago Bears' offense took major strides of improvement throughout OTAs and minicamp after starting the offseason program off a little shaky, as many expected.
Ben Johnson's offense is a complicated scheme and his attention to detail coaching mindset takes everyone a while to fully get a grasp of what's going on for any play.
By the time the team departed for the summer, the offense was stacking successful plays and running a solid operation. Even still, there's some critical questions surrounding each position on the unit heading into training camp in late July.
Quarterback: Is Caleb Williams getting comfortable with the offense?
This is the first step for the entire unit because everything is on quarterback Caleb Williams for it to be successful. The system, as a whole, is wildly different from the one Williams operated as a rookie.
Johnson noted he's "loaded him up" with different length play-calls and understanding the tempo he's looking for in certain situations. Williams continues to respond in a positive way, even to criticism, and is waiting even more on his plate.
"He's committed to learning the offense," Johnson said. "We're not where we need to be yet as a team, and he understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, it sounds like he wants them."
Running Back: Which player will emerge as the true RB2?
We all know D'Andre Swift is going to be the main threat at the running back position and Johnson is excited to start working with him again. The real question in the run game is which player will share the bulk of the workload with Swift.
Johnson's offense is built on the ground and having at least two backs to change up the pace of attack. Behind Swift, the Bears will be examining Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai to see who steps up into the role. What the coaches are mainly looking for in that spot is a physical running style and someone who can pass protect.
Following the mandatory minicamp sessions, Johnson was asked to name some specific players who stood out and Monangai was one of the four names mentioned with Johnson praising his "attention to detail" and "how quickly he's picking things up."
Wide Receiver: How many bodies will end up making the roster?
This offense will have a lot of mouths to feed in 2025. Just looking at the wide receiver room, you have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze on the outside with Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie Luther Burden III splitting reps in the slot.
On the latter, Johnson noted Burden has missed significant time due to a soft tissue injury and is behind the curve while Zaccheaus has looked strong building a connection with his quarterback.
Another receiver to throw into the mix is Devin Duvernay, who will be the prime return man but can bring the downfield speed factor to the offense when his number is called. That's now five WRs, so where does that leave guys like Tyler Scott, Samori Toure, and Maurice Alexander? We'll see in training camp and the preseason.
Tight End: How quick can Colston Loveland get on the field and catch up?
Another aspect of both the run and pass game is the tight end position, a spot Johnson relies heavily on and has background in coaching. The Bears will operate in a lot of 2-TE sets, and frankly could lead the league in 12 personnel looks, with Cole Kmet and first-round pick Colston Loveland.
Kmet is a soft, reliable target in the middle of the field while Loveland brings a rare downfield ability to the position. Both players can easily come down and block as well, which makes for quite the tandem.
Just like with Burden, we haven't really seen Loveland on the field with the entire offense since he's still rehabbing from a shoulder surgery he had back in February, but he's expected to be out there soon.
"He takes everything seriously," Johnson explained about Loveland. "I think he's going to fit in really well once we start getting him to go full speed."
Offensive Line: Who will end up winning the LT battle?
This is the biggest question for the entire offense at arguably the most critical position. The left tackle battle is set to fully begin at training camp after Kiran Amegadjie and rookie Ozzy Trapilo split reps during OTAs and minicamp.
The spotlight is now on for both players to earn the starting role and another fighter will soon enter the arena in Braxton Jones, who started LT each of the last three seasons and will be returning some point in camp from a fractured fibula.
Who comes out on top in this battle will obviously be important, but regardless, the Bears have three guys they like for the spot, which is a great sign in terms of roster depth going into the season.
"They're both fantastic guys," Trapilo said. "The whole O-line is really incredible. Coming in, you don't know how it's going to be. [But] everyone is such a good guy. [If] you have a question, they'll go out of their way to help you. That's for the entire room, [including] the tackle position. I've been really happy about that."
