Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took more than his share of shots last year after being the Chicago Bears' No. 1 overall pick. That's why his front office spent much of the offseason investing in their offensive infrastructure. New head coach Ben Johnson is being counted on to help the unit's remake pay off with more wins in 2025.
Plenty of attention will be paid to how Williams' statistics improve after a full season under his belt. He got 17 games of regular-season action, but he only managed to complete 62.5% of his passes. A reat deal of his inaccuracy can be attributed to the immense amount of pressure he faced on a per-snap basis.
The Bears brought in three potential new starters up front to help keep opposing edge rushers at bay. Joe Thuney will come in to stabilize things at left guard. Drew Dalman was arguably the top center available in free agency and should help Chicago form a clean pocket for their young signal-caller. Right guard Jonah Jackson should give the offense a boost in terms of pass protection and run blocking on the strong side of the formation.
The front office also did work to strengthen their defensive front. Grady Jarrett may be past his prime but he can provide a solid presence at defensive tackle. Dayo Odeyingbo might not have the same name recognition but Chicago believes his sack totals can increase with more snaps.
Add it all up and the Bears are expecting to see progress over the five wins they earned in 2024. The outcome of the following three bold predictions should go a long way towards determining whether or not Chicago takes a meaningful step forward.
1. Caleb Williams completes 67.5 percent of his passes
The Bears organization deserves a lot of credit for trying to do more to support Williams this year. Naming Johnson as their new head coach should provide him with a better schematic ecosystem than he enjoyed as a rookie. Don't be surprised to see Johnson feed his new signal-caller with a lot of easy throws early in games to help build up his confidence.
Remember, it's not as if the Bears are bereft of talent at the wide receiver position. D.J. Moore might not be a true No. 1 option but he comfortably profiles as one of the best No. 2 options in the league. Combine that with Rome Odunze's potential and it's easy to see how plenty of teams would be more than happy to exchange starting duos with Chicago.
A new offensive-minded head coach and a vastly improved offensive line will give Williams a solid platform to work with in 2025. Look for his completion percentage to move up by 5% as a result.
2. Rome Odunze will lead the team in catches
Odunze enjoyed a good rookie season but the Bears will look for him to take over the No. 1 receiver role this year. That means he needs to catch a lot more than 54 balls he reeled in as a rookie.
Moore led the team with just 98 catches but he also had a massive advantage over Odunze in terms of target share. Part of that was fueled by Odunze's slow start to the year but things didn't completely even out after the young wideout caught on to the scheme.
This year Johnson will work hard to build in some pet plays for Odunze to work his way into the flow of games during the first quarter. Moore is not going to suddenly disappear but the Bears know who their most dynamic weapon is on the outside. Look for Odunze to catch about 75 passes which should be just enough to edge Moore for the top spot on the roster.
3. Montez Sweat will go over 10 sacks
Montez Sweat only managed to notch 5.5 sacks last year which still managed to lead the team's porous defense. The good news for the 28-year-old edge rusher is that his underlying numbers still support the idea that he's a top-tier edge rusher.
His 49 pressures on the year actually ranked him as the 29th most productive defensive end in the NFL. The aforementioned addition of Odeyingbo should allow more of his pass rush attempts to come in one-on-one matchups. That, plus a little more luck should be more than enough to see Sweat's sack total bounce back to a more normal level in 2025.
That will be an important development for a Bears defense that gave up entirely too many points last year. Williams can take a big step forward on offense but it won't translate to an increase in wins unless the defense ups its game too. Sweat getting back to his best is a requirement if Chicago is going to achieve that sort of balance.