Since the start of the Chicago Bears' organized team activities, there has been a growing buzz around this team, around head coach Ben Johnson and around a few particular players, starting with quarterback Caleb Williams.
In the Bears' second OTA practice, Williams made an absolutely ridiculous throw while on the run, hitting wide receiver Rome Odunze with a touchdown strike that traveled 67 yards in the air. It later made a social media account from the Bears' official account, and then it took off like wildfire.
One former Green Bay Packers quarterback, Kurt Benkert, reposted the video as well. His caption was a thing of beauty (unless you're a Packers fan):
"I fear the Bears offense scares me this year.
Odunze, Burden, Loveland (stock-up emoji)
Caleb might win an MVP."
For those who might not know, Benkert was a career journeyman who went undrafted, and his only regular-season appearance came with the Packers in 2021. Since his playing days ended a couple of years ago, he's been a popular quarterback analyst.
What does Caleb Williams need to do in order to win an MVP?
If Benkert's early prediction is to have any chance at happening, what, realistically, needs to happen in order for Williams to bring home an MVP?
For starters, the Bears obviously need to make the postseason. If they don't, you can count Williams out. And, to be fair, if the Bears don't make the playoffs, Williams may not have had an MVP-level season to begin with.
But, let's check that box off and assume the Bears are a playoff team.
I think the next logical box to check is for Williams to finally cross that never-before-seen-in-Chicago mark of 4,000 passing yards. It would be hard to picture Williams winning an MVP with less than that.
Not to harp on another pain point which has lasted over 100 years, but Williams would need to throw 30 touchdown passes. That seems like a given.
Last season, Matthew Stafford won the MVP and threw for over 4,700 yards and 46 touchdowns to just eight picks. That seems like a wild stat line to ever imagine for a Bears quarterback, and I don't think Williams hits a line like that in 2026.
But, what seems very realistic is to chart Williams out for a line similar to the following:
4,200 passing yards
34 passing touchdowns
9 interceptions
63.0 percent completion
Those numbers aren't necessarily out-of-this-world by any means, but for a Bears quarterback, it would go down as the greatest season in franchise history. Were the Bears to make the playoffs and couple it with a season like that from Williams, he would absolutely be in the MVP conversation.
The notable part of those numbers is the completion percentage, which would be up five percent from last year. Williams missed a lot of passes early in the season and early in games. It's a focal point for Johnson this year, and if Williams is able to get that completion percentage up, then the added numbers will come.
Read more: Andy Reid affirms what Bears fans already knew about Justin Fields
An MVP quarterback in Chicago? What a world that'd be.
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