The Chicago Bears' future looks in great shape thanks to the work general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have done over the last few years to get there.
Offensively, the unit is young at the skill positions, with players like Caleb Williams, Kyle Monangai, Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland all age 25 or younger. That core group, along with the stellar play of the offensive line, has set the foundation for the Bears to be good for a long time and has given Williams everything he needs to be great. CBS Sports writer Jared Dudin believes this to be the case, as based on certain metrics, he has the Bears tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the best offensive infrastructure for their quarterbacks in the NFL.
"Ben Johnson and Sean McVay are two of the very small handful of best offensive minds in the league. The pass catching groups have either huge stars (Rams) or great depth (Bears). The offensive lines are above-average to good, and the running backs are solid. When you account for the quarterback, the Rams have the advantage, and that's why Matthew Stafford was able to win MVP last year, but in a vacuum, Caleb Williams has just about as good a chance for success on a play-to-play basis as he does because of the talent around him on all areas of the field."
Caleb Williams has all the tools he needs to be great, so no excuses right?
The Bears did a masterful job last offseason in building the kind of offense Johnson wanted for his team, adding three new starting offensive linemen, including All-Pro Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. They also did a ton of work in the draft, selecting Loveland, Burden, Monangai, and Ozzy Trapilo for the offense.
That work paid off as the Bears were crowned the NFC North champions and won a playoff game for the first time in over a decade. Williams benefited greatly from the new guys that arrived as he finished with a franchise-record 3,942 yards and scored 31 total touchdowns, while throwing just seven interceptions in 17 regular season games. He also led an NFL record seven comeback and game-winning drives, while making some of the most incredible throws the league has seen.
Even this offseason, when it looked like the Bears' offense was taking a step back with Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman's shocking retirement and the trade of DJ Moore, Poles and Johnson made sure to take care of Williams. They traded for Garrett Bradbury to be the new starting center, drafted Logan Jones to be the future starting center, signed Kalif Raymond to be the new WR3, and selected Zavion Thomas in the draft to be a potential WR3 or WR4.
Even with all that, Johnson is also a key part of Williams' success, as Johnson threw a lot at his young quarterback last year to see how he would do. Year 2 will be more about Williams learning, which will only open up the offense more through Johnson's play-calling.
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Bears fans are expecting a big leap from their star quarterback in 2026, and with all the weapons at his disposal, there's no excuse why he shouldn't be a top-five player at his position by the end of the year.
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