The Chicago Bears will have some new faces on offense going into the 2026 season and will be without two prominent starters the team was forced to replace this offseason.

Overall, the starting unit is leaning even more into the youth movement, however with head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams at the helm, it’s still expected to be one of the top units in football.

So what is the offense actually going to look like next season? Below is my best guess at the Bears’ starting lineup on offense. The below projection will be based on 11 (three WR and one TE) and 13 personnel (two WR and three TE). Players with an asterisk denote a new starter compared to last year’s Week 1.

Chicago Bears projected 2026 starting offense

11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs)

• QB: Caleb Williams
• RB: D’Andre Swift
• WR1: Rome Odunze
• WR2: Luther Burden III*
• WR3: Kalif Raymond*
• TE1: Colston Loveland
• LT: Braxton Jones
• LG: Joe Thuney
• C: Garrett Bradbury*
• RG: Jonah Jackson
• RT: Darnell Wright

13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR)

• QB: Caleb Williams
• RB: D’Andre Swift
• WR1: Luther Burden III*
• TE1: Colston Loveland*
• TE2: Cole Kmet
• TE3: Sam Roush*
• LT: Braxton Jones
• LG: Joe Thuney
• C: Garrett Bradbury*
• RG: Jonah Jackson
• RT: Darnell Wright

Notes

• I expect the Bears to mainly live out of these two packages, although 12 personnel will be used a fair amount as well (2WRs with Odunze and Burden and 2TEs with Loveland and Kmet). Having these options will allow Chicago’s offense to dictate the defense.
• The 13 personnel group will be frustrating for opposing defenses. Loveland, Kmet, and Roush are all exceptional athletes and blockers. It’s a run-heavy look, but the Bears can get creative out of this formation using play-action with Burden as the outside WR.
• Colston Loveland is going to the the chess piece and engine of this entire offense. I fully expect him to lead the team in snaps and targets this upcoming season.

Toughest spots to predict

• Center: After losing Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman, the Bears quickly pivoted to another veteran in Garrett Bradbury coming off a Super Bowl season with the New England Patriots snapping for another young QB in Drake Maye. However, could second-round rookie Logan Jones challenge Bradbury for the Week 1 job?
• Left tackle: The starting job is likely to come down to Braxton Jones or Jedrick Wills Jr. with both players looking to prove themselves now that they are fully healthy. While I gave the nod to Jones, Wills is a true wildcard in this battle. Theo Benedet lurks as an option as well after starting eight games in 2025 if the other two fail to impress.
• WR3: Right now, Kalif Raymond gets the nod given his veteran presence and familiarity with the scheme and staff. However, part of me wonders how the Bears plan to get third-round pick Zavion Thomas involved within the offense. Will he end up being the WR3? Personally, I see the Bears taking a similar approach they took in 2025 where Olamide Zaccheaus was heavily featured early on before mixing in Burden.