At the outset of training camp last summer, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson set a lofty goal for quarterback Caleb Williams.
"I told him I would love for him this season to complete 70% of his balls,"Johnson said. "So, you would like to think that over the course of practice that we're completing 70% or more, or that's hard to just magically arise in a game. It's a lofty goal, but it's one we're going to strive for. Because of that, we're going to use that as a benchmark and kind of work from there."
To his credit, and to whatever level expected, Williams embraced having lofty goals for his second season--including that 70 percent completion mark. But after five quarterbacks completed 70 percent or more of their passes in 2024, just one did it last season.
And it was not Williams. He completed just 58.1 percent of his passes (32nd out of 33 qualified passers). Scattershot accuracy was again an issue, with consistency early in games a particular issue before he was often on a whole other level in the fourth quarter.
Ben Johnson puts a number on Caleb Williams' key area of improvement
As Dan Wiederer of The Athletic noted, Williams would have needed 40 more completions last season to complete 65 percent of his passes. While that sounds like a lot, it's 2.4 more completions per game, and that path to that improvement is easier than you might think.
Pro Football Focus credited Bears' pass catchers with 34 drops of Williams' passes (third-most in the league). Give him all of those completions (which is unrealistic, of course), and his raw completion percentage goes from 58.1 to 64.1 percent. Along the line, Weiderer went down. Next Gen Stats had Williams' expected completion percentage at 65 percent.
Johnson, per Wiederer, but a bigger number on the volume of completions Williams left on the table last season.
"When you watch our self-scout (video),” Johnson said, “we’ve probably got 80 to 100 completions left on the table. I think he’s going to recognize that.”
Not coincidentally, of course, 80 more completions last season would've put Williams' completion rate at 72.2 percent.
Williams' path to better, more consistent accuracy is fairly ground-level, rooted in quicker decision- making, better footwork, and better ball placement. Johnson detailed it to Weiderer in greater detail.
As Johnson told The Athletic: “There are going to be a number of snaps on tape where he’ll look at it and be like, ‘Man, I’ve got to put this ball six inches further out in front.’ Or ‘I need to put this a little bit lower.’ Things of that nature. Really, he’s got to challenge himself. We’re going to challenge him. But he has to acknowledge, ‘I need to be better in these areas.’”
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After a turbulent rookie season, Williams had a lot of work to do to become a more refined quarterback, and Johnson was tasked with teaching him some of the position's most basic aspects. Another step in Year 3 is in order, and the duo knows exactly how Williams can get it done.