Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is one of the top offensive minds in the NFL. That said, a big part of maintaining that status year after year is self-scouting to adapt and tweak things.
Speaking at minicamp, Johnson talked about that idea in terms of personnel that always changes.
"We have different guys this year than we had last year and certainly anywhere else I've been. The challenge is making sure that we're all coordinated and on the same page and putting them all in a spot to succeed. But I love the challenge of looking at Luther Burden and how we get him the ball and maximize what he does best, along with Rome (Odunze) and Colston (Loveland) and Cole (Kmet)."
Last season, as NFL offenses sought new advantages in the constant chess game against opposing defenses, a proliferation of multi-tight end formations emerged.
According to ESPN's Matt Bowen, citing data going back to 2007, a record 1,845 offensive plays had three or more tight ends on the field across the NFL last season. With a record 17 tight ends drafted in the first five rounds of April's draft, the trend toward "heavier" personnel packages is not going away.
Bears named team to watch as Ben Johnson looks to fully exploit personnel trend
The Bears, of course, were one of the teams that added a tight end in this year's draft, taking Sam Roush in the third round. Investing that kind of draft capital teases some sort of plan to get the rookie on the field right away. Last year's No. 3 tight end, Durham Smythe, played 25 percent of the offensive snaps.
In the aforementioned piece, in which he cited the number of plays NFL offenses ran with three or more tight ends on the field, Bowen went through multiple personnel groupings to name teams that did so the most, the least, and the best last season. He also added a team to watch for each of those personnel groupings in 2026.
Bowen's team to watch on the "13" personnel front (three tight ends) is, unsurprisingly, the Bears.
"They ran 94 snaps out of the grouping last season (fifth most), but that number should elevate in 2026. Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet and 2026 third-round pick Sam Roush can be used creatively as blockers, while also working multiple levels of the field as receivers. And Loveland gives Chicago a matchup player who can play in-line, work out of the slot or flex to the backside X receiver."
According to Sumer Sports, the Bears were ninth in EPA per play out of 13 personnel last season, with the fifth-most plays and the fifth-highest percentage of total offensive plays run out of that grouping. If Roush can offer more than Smythe did as a pass catcher, as Bowen hinted he can, that play volume could climb notably this season.
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According to Sumer, the Los Angeles Rams lapped the field with 331 plays run out of 13 personnel last season. That gap feels sure to narrow noticeably this year, and the Bears are in line to lead the charge.
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