Chicago Bears HC Ben Johnson putting a football cliché to the test with latest evolution of his offense expected in 2026
The Chicago Bears will run plenty of 13 personnel sets on offense after drafting tight end Sam Roush and have some exciting plays to potentially steal from the Los Angeles Rams. Here we break down our Top-3 favorites.
The latest NFL offensive trend is on the horizon going into the 2026 season and the Chicago Bears are working to get ahead of the curve under head coach Ben Johnson.
That trend involves the use of multiple tight ends to combat the faster and smaller defenses in the modern NFL landscape.
It was a big component of Johnson’s offense last year and something that will continue after the Bears drafted a tight end in the third-round in Sam Roush despite already having Cole Kmet and 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland.
“Chicago was really good in the run game this past year, and to get Roush to play tight end, damn, they are going to be able to run some strong-side runs,” an anonymous NFL executive said. “This guy can block all the defensive ends.”
More than that, Johnson’s passing game is set to evolve in 2026 using these multiple tight ends. Last season, the Bears already ranked Top-5 in drop backs in 13 personnel (3-TEs). If the Bears want to pass more out of those multi-TE sets, there’s one clear team to start stealing some ideas from.
Chicago Bears need to steal ideas from the Los Angeles Rams when it comes to 13 personnel
No team in 2025 abused 13 personnel sets more than Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams ran 132 drop backs with three tight ends with 1,063 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and zero interceptions out of that formation. The next closest team in terms of drop backs was the Arizona Cardinals with 72 (Chicago was fifth with 37).
The NFL is a copy-cat league and Johnson’s admitted to stealing plays from other teams. If 13 personnel is the next evolution of the Bears’ offense this upcoming season, Johnson has likely been all over the Rams’ tape from last season. So, let’s also take a look at it.
When the Rams went into 3-TE sets, the usual grouping was Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Terrance Ferguson at tight end with Puka Nacua or Davante Adams at wide receiver. For the Bears, the grouping will be Kmet, Loveland, and Roush at tight end with Luther Burden III likely being the lone wide receiver in those sets.
Adams dominated in 13 personnel for the Rams as the lone wide receiver, totaling six touchdowns, many of which came from inside the five-yard-line. Looking beyond Adams’ red zone domination, you can clearly see some exciting potential for explosives passing out of 13 personnel. Let’s look at my top three out of the plays I studied.
1. Tight end isolated on the left side with a deep double move after a WR motion
On this first play, the Rams had Ferguson on the left outside and Nacua next to him with Parkinson and Allen on the LOS to the right. Before the snap, Nacua motioned to the right to leave Ferguson isolated on a cornerback. After the snap, Ferguson took his route deep toward the middle of the field before doubling back toward the left corner of the end zone. It resulted in a wide open 27-yard touchdown.
On this play, Ferguson would essentially be Loveland. The Bears already toyed with isolating Loveland on the outside last season and he has the speed needed to make a play like this deep down the field with Roush and Kmet on the LOS.
2. Two tight ends and 1 wide receiver all on the same side running deep routes
This one is a fun one. The Rams have Nacua out wide to the right with Ferguson inside with Parkinson on the LOS to the left. Before the snap, Allen motions all the way outside Nacua to put three players out to the right. All three players run deep routes with Allen running a wheel/vertical while Ferguson and Nacua each run deep crossers.
Johnson would love this kind of play because it stresses the zone responsibilities of the secondary and frees open Nacua perfectly for a gain of 32-yards. The Bears could do something similar with Odunze or Burden with either Loveland or Kmet being the motion man.
3. Heavy run fake with a boot and TE leak
On this last play, the Rams had wide receiver Konata Mumpfield and Allen on the left side of the formation with Parkinson on the LOS to the right and Ferguson lined up outside of him. Before the snap, Allen motions to the right putting all three TEs on the same side to show a heavy run look that direction. Instead, it’s a run fake in which Stafford boots back to the left while Parkinson leaks off the block and drags wide open across the field.
This would be an awesome first down run-fake for the Bears that would get Roush involved as a receiver to showcase his athleticism. The Rams used this on a first-and-10 and turned it into gain of 23 yards.
Takeaways
That was just three of my favorite plays I pulled after watching some of the Rams offense in 13 personnel. There’s plenty of other ideas Johnson can scheme up with this group of weapons from various alignments. And the run game out of 13 personnel will be just as deadly for defenses to account for.
It’s going to be exciting to watch all of this come together this upcoming season and clearly the Rams had plenty of success passing out of this formation.