Projecting Year Two Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, and new Bears HC Ben Johnson’s offense.
The offseason is all but wrapped up with the conclusion of preseason football and 53-man roster cutdowns. For the Chicago Bears, it was a mixed bag of results.
Throughout training camp, most reports indicated a rocky start as most expected. Establishing a new culture with a first-time head coach presents several challenges, especially when faced with a roster previously led by Matt Eberflus, now the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.
As camp progressed, a sense of familiarity and accountability set in for the 2025 Chicago Bears. Under Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson, you will be held accountable, and nothing will be sugar-coated. The Bears have seemingly responded well, as multiple leaders of both the offense and defense have spoken in support of the tough coaching style throughout the offseason.
No More Guardrails For The Offense
The Bears offense has shown flashes throughout training camp, with Olamide Zaccheaus being the surprise training camp darling and go-to target for Caleb Williams, along with a blossoming connection to fellow 2024 first-round draft pick Rome Odunze.
The rubber meets the road soon, however, as the regular season quickly approaches and with it a Week 1 matchup against the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. A new-look offense under Ben Johnson and a revamped offensive line will face a big test against the likes of Jonathan Allen, Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel, among others on the talented Minnesota front led by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
You play the teams in front of you and no game is easy in the National Football League. I believe Caleb Williams will take a major leap under Ben Johnson this year.
Here is how this season’s statistics might shake out for the 2025 Bears offense.
Quarterback Caleb Williams 2025 Statline
4,275 Passing Yards, 36 Passing TDs, 14 INTs
To answer your question, yes I do have the Bears finally adding a 4,000 yard passer to the NFL and to shatter the Bears single-season passing touchdown record of 29 held by Erik Kramer.
This may seem like unfiltered optimism for the Bears second year quarterback and to some degree it is. However, I don’t think it’s as unattainable as some might think.
The Detroit Lions, and in particular quarterback Jared Goff, under Ben Johnson’s offense threw for well over 4,000 yards in each season that Johnson manned the offense. That doesn’t mean everything for Caleb Williams and the Bears offense, but it does mean something.
Jared Goff’s yards gained per passing attempt since Johnson took over the reigns in 2022 were 7.6, 7.6, and 8.6, respectively.
Caleb Williams’ yards gained per passing attempt in 2024 was just 6.3 and the Bears often faced 2nd and long situations which led to predictable play calls and an easier job for the opposing defense. I expect that number to go up for Caleb Williams this season and for the Bears to be in more advantageous situations on 2nd down.
With as many options at his disposal on the offense and a head coach that values EPA over avoiding turnovers, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the number of passing touchdowns go up for Williams and along with it some interceptions. As he fine tunes his accuracy, there will be growing pains but it will only help Williams’ overall development.
In terms of weapons, let’s turn to the wide receiver room and the player that I think will benefit most from Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme – Rome Odunze.
The Receivers
Rome Odunze 2025 Statline
1,000+ Receiving Yards, 7 Receiving TDs
I expect a massive leap in production for the talented receiver out of the University of Washington and for him to be the focal point in this Bears offense. The connection between Odunze and Williams made sparks last season in an offensive scheme that at several points just made no sense in terms of the route trees for each receiver.
In training camp this summer, Ben Johnson has rotated Odunze between the and X and Z positions and that will likely continue throughout the regular season.
However, a strength of Odunze is his prowess as a 50/50 ball guy, with a contested catch rate of 72.2% in 2024 that led all receivers and tight ends in the NFL. The Bears head coach commented earlier this summer on what he expects from the second year player in 2025:
Like many, I expect Rome Odunze to emerge from 2025 as the WR1 in this offense and for D.J. Moore, who will still play a considerable role in Ben Johnson’s offense, to take more of a backseat.
D.J. Moore 2025 Statline
800 Receiving Yards, 8 Receiving TDs
Do I think it’s possible D.J. Moore outperforms my projected statline? Absolutely.
Simply from what has been reported out of Halas Hall this summer, Moore has seemingly been used as a gadget player by Ben Johnson, running plays out of the backfield, jet sweeps, etc. D.J. Moore is a monster in terms of yards after the catch, so it’s no surprise if Johnson will want to put the ball in his hands.
Perhaps it’s intentional, the lack of coverage in regard to D.J. Moore. It might be the fact that the Bears have so much new and talented offensive personnel that Moore has seemingly had a quiet camp. I love what Moore has brought to this Bears team in the last few years, but I do believe he will see a different, albeit reduced role in Chicago’s offense this season.
I also believe the development of Luther Burden III and the arrival of Olamide Zaccheaus play a pivotal role in deciding production for D.J. Moore and this receiving room as a whole.
Luther Burden III 2025 Statline
450 Receiving Yards, 6 TDS
Rather than a lack of ability, I think it will be a lack of targets that lowers Luther Burden’s production, at least yardage wise this season. Burden faced a steep hill for targets in this offense after missing the first few weeks of training camp due to injury. Another factor was the emergence of training camp standout and free agent addition Olamide Zaccheaus during Burden’s rehabilitation.
Returning from injury, Luther Burden put together an impressive few weeks of training camp and a very good showing throughout the Bears preseason slate of games.
Mainly running with the second team and the reserves, Burden displayed excellent blocking effort. This bodes well for him, as one of the first things Ben Johnson underlined when he arrived to Chicago was the “No Block, No Rock” mantra:
Luther Burden is another player that I could easily see surpassing the total I’ve set for him this season. It boils down to being a numbers game and we’ve seen how fickle first year receivers can be in the NFL.
To me, Burden is the most difficult player to predict in this Bears offense in 2025. However, I do expect Burden to play a critical role down the stretch and into next year for the Chicago Bears.
Olamide Zaccheaus 2025 Statline
475 Receiving Yards, 5 TDs
As previously mentioned, a surprise to many Bears fans was the Olamide Zaccheaus training camp storyline. Zaccheaus has impressed this coaching staff and seemingly solidified himself as WR3 in this offense for the time being.
Throughout his NFL career, Zaccheaus has never exceeded 550 yards receiving in a season, so I expect that trend to continue with the Bears. Five touchdowns would set a career high for a season for Zaccheaus, a number that I think is reasonable considering what we have seen this offseason.
Zaccheaus will provide a reliable third option on critical downs and maybe even in the red zone this season for Caleb Williams.
Another interesting facet of this Bears passing attack is the usage of the tight ends on the roster.
The Tight Ends
Cole Kmet 2025 Statline
550 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs
The tight end position is another interesting cog in the wheel of Ben Johnson’s offense in Chicago. It has been hammered into the ground the fact that Johnson loves to use 12 personnel and can do so with the addition of rookie TE Colston Loveland and Bears sixth year player TE Cole Kmet.
Does Cole Kmet see a drop in production this year?
I actually see an uptick from last year incoming at least in terms of yardage. Both Bears tight ends will see plenty of targets in the middle of the field this season and you saw flashes of it throughout the preseason, such as Kmet’s nice grab against the Buffalo Bills:
If it were not for the Bears drafting Colston Loveland, I’d add a few more yards and a few more touchdowns to Kmet’s totals this season. I think he will still play a major role for this offense not only in production, but in protection as well.
Colston Loveland 2025 Statline
600 Receiving Yards, 6 TDs
The rate at which rookie tight ends in the last few years have become instant contributors is impressive, with names like Kyle Pitts, Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers being the latest examples. I don’t see any reason why Colston Loveland can’t be that next big contributor.
I have Loveland outpacing Kmet in the receiving game this season because I believe he has more upside as a pass catcher, especially after the catch and through contact.
Loveland has displayed tremendous effort in protection as well, but I think Kmet is the better blocker for now, so it will be interesting to see how both of their roles evolve throughout 2025.
To wrap it up, let’s look at the running back I think will contribute most in the passing game.
The Runningback Position
D’Andre Swift 2025 Statline
1,000+ rushing yards, 300 Receiving Yards, 8 Rushing + Receiving TDs
D’Andre Swift will easily lead the Bears in all rushing categories this season, barring a leap onto the scene by rookie Kyle Monangai from Rutgers.
Last season, behind a terrible offensive line, D’Andre Swift racked up over 1,300 all-purpose yards and was less than fifty yards away from a 1,000 yard rushing season. Swift has been the lead back all throughout the offseason and it’s evident the Bears either like his talent or simply don’t believe there is a back worth adding to the roster to compete with Swift for touches.
There were rumors the Bears were targeting one of Quinshon Judkins or TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the NFL Draft, but both backs were gone before the Bears eventually selected Luther Burden III at pick #39.
Regardless, expect Swift to play the workhorse role in the Bears offense this year.
I don’t make much mention of either Roschon Johnson or Kyle Monangai simply because Johnson was primarily the goal line/third down back and can’t stay healthy and Monangai is a 7th round pick, so it’s tough to project just how much of a role he’ll have in this offense.
With as thin of a room the Bears currently have at RB, both of those players may very well see considerable snaps this season.
