Ben Johnson’s major offseason investment continues to pay dividends for Chicago and the next priority is clear after 2025
The interior of the Chicago Bears offensive line had an insane game.
When the Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson to be the team’s next head coach, the expectation was that Johnson would bring along his high-scoring and efficient offense along with him to Chicago.
After Week 9’s offensive explosion in which the Bears scored six offensive touchdowns and nearly reached 600 yards of offense, it’s clear Ben Johnson’s vision with the unit is finally coming to light and it’s being powered by the major offseason investments he went out to acquire.
And no, we’re not talking about the two exceptional rookies who shined bright on Sunday. We’re talking about the three interior investments made to the offensive line that are starting to gel together at the right time.
Bears interior offensive line dominated against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9
Johnson’s first plan of attack after taking over as head coach in Chicago was to revamp the interior of the offensive line. So, Chicago went out and traded for a future Hall of Fame left guard in Joe Thuney and then traded for Jonah Jackson to reunite him with Johnson. In free agency, Chicago moved quick to sign center Drew Dalman, locking all three players up through the 2027 season.
Entering the season, Johnson mentioned multiple times it would take a few weeks to get these three players on the same wave length and put the onus on the offensive line to improve when the run game was called into question heading into the bye week.
Since the Week 5 bye, the Bears have rushed for 186.5 yards per game with Week 9 being the team’s highest rushing total (283) since 1984. The play of the interior three is a big reason why and in pass protection, those three players were just as dominant.
Thuney, Dalman, and Jackson allowed one combined pressure on Sunday (per PFF) and as a whole the offensive line kept quarterback Caleb Williams clean with zero sacks allowed. Then you factor in right tackle Darnell Wright, who’s been a mauler in the run game and stout in pass protection, the Bears have four really good offensive linemen for the future.
Left tackle needs to be Chicago’s top priority after the 2025 season
As for the fifth position on the offensive line, the Bears have found a serviceable starter in Theo Benedet who replaced Braxton Jones at left tackle in Week 4. Benedet’s athleticism has shined in the run game but he has clear limitations in pass protection that continue to show up.
On Sunday, Benedet allowed a team-high five pressures, bringing his total number of pressures allowed to 15, which is tied for the most on the team.
For the time being, Johnson and the Bears can live with that, and in a perfect world Benedet is able to clean up some of his issues in pass protection. If he can’t, finding the future left tackle needs to be a priority. Some wondered if second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo could develop into that guy, but it’s clear he’s better fit on the right side and as a swing tackle than a full-time starter on the left side.
As for former third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie, injuries continue to hamper his development and the Bears can’t wait forever to find their guy at left tackle. Landing a blue-chip left tackle in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft seems like the ideal approach for the Bears to take based on what we’ve seen through the first half of the regular season.
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