As the Chicago Bears embarked on a search for a new head coach, finding an offensive mind who could get Caleb Williams on the right track and maximize the weapons around the young quarterback was the priority. So Ben Johnson was ultimately an easy choice, and the interest may have been mutual going back further into his time as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator than many may realize.
Johnson and his staff surely did a thorough self-scout of the players who were already in place on the Bears' offense. The previous offensive staff fell way short in getting the most out of that talent last season, as might be expected when there were three different coordinators, so some of the ways to change that likely revealed themselves easily upon doing that deep dive.
Ben Johnson calls Rome Odunze an offensive piece he never really had in Detroit
Before Tuesday morning's practice, Johnson was asked about wide receiver Rome Odunze.
"To me he fits that prototypical "X" receiver", Johnson said. "Where you can line him up outside the numbers, and provided he gets a 1-on-1 with a corner, he's gonna win most of his matchups. Slant routes, stop routes, go routes, you know, the whole route tree outside the numbers. And that's what I've seen from him so far. He's a really detailed route runner."
"When you have a long guy that can win contested catches and torque down the field and all that", Johnson continued. "But yet can still drop his weight and get into and out of routes like he can, that's really a unique skill set that we're gonna look to capitalize on."
For all the success Johnson guided the Lions' offense to over the last three seasons, they never really had a true prototypical "X" receiver for a prolonged period. How much a receiver fitting that prototype was actually needed is the obvious question, with all the other skill position talent in place there, but the search was always somewhat ongoing.
Johnson has made it clear he will modify the offense he ran in Detroit to fit the talent he has at his disposal in Chicago. Odunze's rookie season was notably inefficient on a number of fronts, and a broader route tree will be a core driving force to fix that.
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The core traits of a prototypical "X" receiver are there in spades with Odunze though, and Johnson clearly feels he has found that foundational piece of his Bears' offense.