We might have caught Ben Johnson in his first lie as the Chicago Bears head coach.
When Johnson was first introduced as the Bears' head coach in January, he mentioned that he would be reconstructing a new offense that was different from the offense he ran with the Detroit Lions. However, as the 2025 NFL Draft played out, it's clear that Johnson's offense with the Bears will have callbacks to what he ran with the Lions.
After all, the Bears' decision to take tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick in the draft speaks to Johnson's preference for 12 personnel that he had with the Lions. Not to mention, Loveland has drawn comparisons to the tight end Johnson had in Detroit. While meeting with reporters after the draft on Saturday, Johnson confirmed those comparisons to Sam LaPorta.
Johnson confirms that LaPorta came to mind when the Bears were reviewing Loveland's film. What shoud make Bears fans love Loveland even more is the comparisons that Johnson saw to Loveland off the field. Johnson confirmed that the Bears see a player in Loveland who can rise up to the occassion, and the stage is never too bright for the rookie tight end.
One of the popular criticisms of the Bears' selection of Loveland was that tight end was not a position of need for the team, instead, the Bears made the pick out of luxury. Here's the problem with that: while Cole Kmet is certainly worthy of having a role in the Bears' offense, he's far from a complete product at the tight end position. And again, offense, as Bears' fans know, is changing. One talking about the Bears running two tight-end sets, each tight end is going to have an important role in the team's offense. Loveland was very much a pick of need for the Bears.