Bears HC Ben Johnson sets a new bar for Caleb Williams to cross that can help him play at a potential MVP level if he manages to reach it
As the Chicago Bears get set to open training camp on Wednesday, all eyes will be on the relationship between head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams.Throughout the early portion of the offseason, the coaching staff loaded up Williams' plate going into his second year to see how much of the offense he can […]
As the Chicago Bears get set to open training camp on Wednesday, all eyes will be on the relationship between head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams.
Throughout the early portion of the offseason, the coaching staff loaded up Williams' plate going into his second year to see how much of the offense he can truly handle.
So far, Williams has been able to handle everything thrown his way while still being able to put solid work on tape. Once the team wrapped up minicamp, Williams shared what his homework assignments before coming back to training camp.
"Part of the homework some of it was footwork and some of it was get through the playbook," Williams explained. "It was just small things like that but homework wise was mainly the footwork and then some left short throws that in OTAs, I was missing."
Even heading into camp, the little details matter when it comes to mastering this offense and playing to the level Ben Johnson expects out of his quarterback.
As far as the season goals are considered, Johnson and Williams have now brought up a magic number that has evaded all other previous QBs in Chicago: 4,000 passing yards. Johnson believes Williams will be the first quarterback in Chicago to accomplish that feat, and continue to do so for multiple seasons to come.
Johnson also laid out another goal he's seemingly engrained into Williams' mind.
"It's not a secret, I told him that I would love for him on the season to complete 70% of his balls," Johnson told the media on Tuesday. "So, you would like to think over the course of practice that we're completing 70% or more. It's a lofty goal but it's one that we're going to stive for."
Accuracy was certainly one of the things Williams struggled with during his rookie season. Williams finished the year with a 62.5 completion percentage, which ranked dead last among QBs with 500+ dropbacks in 2024.
By comparison, Johnson's former quarterback, Jared Goff, ranked second in that same sample group with a career-high 72.4 completion percentage in 2024.
Even going back to his college days, Williams never completed 70% of his passes in a single season, with his highest mark coming in 2023 (68.6%).
Completing the ball is always a high priority for any quarterback, but in an offense built on getting the ball out quick and into the hands of the play-makers, being accurate with the ball is even more critical.
Which is why Johnson wants Williams to work more under center and use more play-action to help create layup throws that can boost his own completion percentage and keep the entire offensive operation on track.
Everything Johnson says has a reason behind it. If Williams can complete 70+ percent of his passes and the pass catcher do the rest, 4,000 yards is easily attainable along with even higher personal goals.
As CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones pointed out, only nine QBs in NFL history have put together a season completing 70+ percent of their passes with 4,000+ yards (Drew Brees, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield).
Becoming the 10th QB to do so in 2025 would easily put Williams in the MVP conversation and show how far along this relationship is in Year 1.
