We are officially 100 days away from the Chicago Bears kicking off their 2025 NFL season on Monday Night Football when they take on the Minnesota Vikings. It'll be a double-debut game to close out Week 1 with Ben Johnson making his coaching debut in Chicago and Vikings' J.J. McCarthy making his regular season debut as QB1.

But, we still have to wait a while until we get to that day. In the meantime, here are 100 thoughts on the team heading into the 2025 season.

Thoughts On Ben Johnson (10)

1. The intensity & accountability are something the players are already buying into.
2. His offensive scheme will look slightly different than his unit in Detroit.
3. Even still, expect to see a lot of explosives and trick plays from this unit.
4. He has the best mindset with how he wants to feed everyone, you gotta earn it.
5. He will be keen on his the offensive line, and having backups ready to go.
6. Landing Dennis Allen is going to be huge in running the defensive side of the ball.
7. His attention to detail and expectations for each player on each play is next level.
8. How he handles inevitable adversity/losses will be key in Year 1.
9. How he handles play-calling + being the head coach will be a learning curve.
10. Beyond that, he'll have to learn time-management and when to use timeouts.

Thoughts On The Rest Of The Staff (6)

1. Dennis Allen is aiming to have an aggressive defense, not just rushing the passer.
2. Secondary will play more man coverage, while pressing on the line of scrimmage.
3. Antwaan Randle-El already has been showing his infectious personality.
4. Playing experience of Randle-El, Al Harris, and Eric Bieniemy will go a long way.
5. Richard Hightower's unit on ST got some seriously underrated additions.
6. Declan Doyle's presence and impact on game day will be something to watch.

Thoughts On Caleb Williams (10)

1. It's clear this guy wants to be here and change the QB narrative in Chicago.
2. He's eager to learn from his 2024 mistakes and has been putting in the work.
3. Two areas the staff wants to see improvement: body language and footwork.
4. He will line up more under center to help with the run game + play action.
5. He needs to build a better connections with his pass catchers.
6. I'm excited to see Williams take more shots down the field to DJ Moore, etc.
7. With all the new weapons and scheme, 4,000 yards is feasible in his second year.
8. While the OL was bad last year, some of the sacks were Williams' fault and something he needs to fix (i.e. faster reads and better pocket presence).
9. His rushing ability was a real threat and something Ben Johnson will keep in mind.
10. Don't be concerned if the interception number looks a lot higher, the emphasis will be more on having a strong EPA and avoiding sacks.

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Thoughts On The Run Game (10)

1. Johnson's scheme will be both zone and gap heavy.
2. D'Andre Swift will look much more efficient working with Ben Johnson again.
3. Speaking of which, Swift averaged a career-high 5.5 yards/attempt in 2022.
4. At the same time, don't expect Swift to have 200+ attempts again.
5. Roschon Johnson will get the first crack at the RB2 job, but the staff is looking for him to be much more physical as a runner.
6. Kyle Monangai's pass pro ability will get him on the field more than people expect.
7. Ryan Poles is infatuated with Ian Wheeler's explosiveness, definitely one to watch.
8. I don't expect to see much Travis Homer on offense, but he will play a high share of ST snaps if he sticks around on the roster.
9. I fully expect DJ Moore and Luther Burden III to be involved in the run game.
10. As mentioned before, Eric Bieniemy is going to coach the piss out of this group.

Thoughts On The Pass Catchers (12)

1. Blocking and creating after the catch will be the key to getting more targets.
2. Don't fully assume DJ Moore is going to play in the Amon-Ra St. Brown role.
3. While on Moore, his attitude and effort were serious concerns last season.
4. As for Rome Odunze, he needs to have a better connection with his quarterback.
5. Developing more of a route tree for Odunze would also help with that instead of being just a contested catch guy on the outside.
6. Burden will be a beast in this system as a vertical player and RAC guy.
7. The 2-TE set with Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland will haunt defenses.
8. On that note, I fully expect Loveland to be the guy on third-down situations.
9. Let's see if Tyler Scott is a non-factor once again under this new staff, or not.
10. Don't sleep on Olamide Zaccheaus, he's a seasoned pro who can attack vs. zone.
11. Devin Duvernay is another guy that can mix in and use his speed as a deep threat.
12. Detroit had 4 players go for 500+ yards in 2024, I can see 5 doing so for Chicago.

Thoughts On The Offensive Line (12)

1. Left tackle remains the biggest question mark and will be all season long.
2. Joe Thuney was a massive addition not only because of the player that he is but also the leadership he brings to the rest of the unit.
3. A lot of people glanced by Jonah Jackson and his issues, I'm still not 100% sold.
4. I am sold on Drew Dalman, I think he's going to be an absolute beast at center.
5. Darnell Wright should easily be a nationally-known name after this season.
6. The interior three players seem to be really close and working well together.
7. The depth was heavily improved, but time will tell if enough moves were made.
8. Even if Braxton Jones starts, Ozzy Trapilo should supplant him at some point.
9. A lot of people were really hard on Kiran Amegadjie, I hope he turns it around when given the opportunity to see the field again.
10. Luke Newman was a very underrated draft pick given his ability to play G/C.
11. Doug Kramer in short-yardage and red zone packages will be a legit threat.
12. I'm wondering who the final/hidden depth guy will be (Bates, Benedet, Murray?)

Thoughts On The Defensive Line (10)

1. Montez Sweat will see a lot less attention from double-teams.
2. Ryan Poles also noted that Sweat is in unbelievable shape going into 2025.
3. The Bears are banking a lot on Dayo Odeyingbo reaching his full potential.
4. Versatility is key for Gervon Dexter Sr. and Shemar Turner.
5. Turner's mentality and mindset is going to bring a lot of energy for the unit.
6. Andrew (Big Bill) Billings is BACK! Need I say more?
7. Grady Jarrett seems to have a new-found life will help extend his prime.
8. Depth off the edge is going to be a concern if Sweat/Odeyingbo go down.
9. What will happen to Zacch Pickens after ending the season as a healthy inactive?
10. I'm expecting the Bears to keep a lot of bodies in this room, which is great for guys like Chris Williams and Jonathan Ford as potential backups.

Thoughts At Linebacker (6)

1. 2025 is make or break for Tremaine Edmunds, he needs to make a real impact.
2. I'm stoked the Bears rewarded T.J. Edwards for the impact he's actually made.
3. Seeing Dennis Allen mix around Edmunds and Edwards will be fun to watch.
4. The open LB3 job peaks my interest (Sewell, Hyppolite or Ogbongbemiga)
5. Hearing Ben Johnson mention moving Daniel Hardy to LB is interesting as well.
6. Ruben Hyppolite II and his speed makes for an exciting young player to develop.

Thoughts On The Secondary (8)

1. The safety depth still concerns me until we see how the UDFAs look in action.
2. Zah Frazier will seriously challenge for an outside cornerback spot.
3. Jaylon Johnson shadowing WR1s is great for him and the entire secondary.
4. Terell Smith is someone I want to see get more action when playing in zone.
5. Tyrique Stevenson is going have some early struggles as a press corner.
6. The Kevin Byard – Jaquan Brisker duo has high potential if they stay on the field.
7. 2025 will also be a big season for Byard and Brisker playing on expiring contracts.
8. Poles spoke highly of Major Burns and Tysheem Johnson as developmental guys.

Thoughts On Some Other Notable Players (6)

1. Tyson Bagent has one more year on his contract, could he be a trade candidate?
2. Signing Case Keenum was a massive pickup for Caleb Williams and as a vet player.
3. Austin Booker should see an uptick in snaps after posting 1.5 sacks as a rookie.
4. Kyler Gordon is going to dominate in this scheme, potential Pro Bowl season?
5. Dominique Robinson could finally be on the chopping block after new additions.
6. We could see a legit competition at kicker and long snapper with two new UDFAs.

General Team Thoughts (10)

1. The energy around this group looks much more improved thanks to the new staff.
2. This is arguably the deepest roster Ryan Poles has ever built in Chicago.
3. I wouldn't get the hopes up on this being a playoff team in Year 1 under Johnson.
4. At the same time, they could squeak into a wild card spot late in the season.
5. Don't rule out any additions if the young players take too long to develop.
6. A few FA to watch: Nick Chubb, Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams, Matt Judon.
7. No Holiday or international games in 2025 is great for everyone.
8. Week 2 at Detroit should have been a primetime affair, the NFL screwed up there.
9. Bears-Packers rivalry is going to get really spicy after Ben Johnson's comments.
10. Bears have a gauntlet of a schedule, but luckily the tough games are spread out.

The Bears seem to be taking full advantage of a sneaky offseason move and it’s going to pay off in a big way for QB Caleb Williams

It’s already been worth the investment.