Chicago Bears first quarter awards: Tory Taylor, Caleb Williams, Jaylon Johnson and more

When the NFL season was 16 games long, things were neat. You could easily demarcate the first quarter of the season, the first half, and so on. Things are a bit less clean with 17 games, but as millions of football fans would agree, more football is always a good thing.

The Chicago Bears won't officially be through the first quarter of their season until 15 minutes have elapsed against the Carolina Panthers ends on Sunday, but just as a good football coach tries to simplify the playbook, we're going to make things easy and give out some first quarter awards right now.

We have four awards to give out to four different Bears, and one thing smart readers will no doubt realize is that although we have a Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and MVP, there's no Offensive Player of the Year award being given out, at least not yet. Anyone who has watched the Bears through four games can probably understand why — the offense, although it has improved in recent weeks, has not been good this season, and no player from that side of the ball has done enough to deserve an Offensive Player of the Year award.

Rome Odunze was excellent against the Colts but has been quiet in the other three games. DJ Moore has yet to have a signature moment. Keenan Allen has been hurt. D'Andre Swift was in line to win the Biggest Bust award until he went buck wild on the Rams last week. Cole Kmet has probably been the most consistent player on the offense, but he hasn't done enough to earn any FanSided hardware. We'll get to Caleb Williams, but not for our first award, the Rookie of the Year, because another Bears draft pick has improbably earned it over him.

Chicago Bears first quarter Rookie of the Year: Tory Taylor

I'm going to be honest here. Tory Taylor's performance through four weeks has made me seriously consider becoming an Iowa football fan. I'm as surprised as you are, but if you think about it, the Hawkeyes and the Bears, besides being Midwest neighbors, have a lot of football DNA in common.

Both teams have historically relied on their defense to succeed. Both teams have historically struggled to score points, often playing offense in a way that would best be described as "excruciating."

Now both teams have a more tangible link, and his name is Tory Taylor. Many people balked at taking a punter in the fourth round, but I'm half-expecting Ryan Poles to be driving the Indy 500 pace car in May for his victory lap on this decision. Taylor has done the impossible — he's made punting cool.

Taylor's full array of skills was on display against the Rams in Week 4. He launched three punts of over 60 yards. He showed off his directional punting skills. He busted out the lob wedge for a little backspin inside the 10. In what was clearly the Bears' best team performance of the season, Taylor's punting masterclass was the most riveting part, but it wasn't an aberration. With a 47.9-yard average per kick and nine of his 20 punts landing inside the 20, he's done it all year.

Taylor has been so impressive that people are wondering aloud whether he should be classified as a Defensive Player of the Year or an Offensive Player of the Year candidate. This isn't a conversation that anyone's ever needed to have before, but then again, we haven't seen a rookie punter like Tory Taylor.

Chicago Bears first quarter Defensive Player of the Year: Gervon Dexter Sr.

The Bears rank top-10 in the league in both points and yards allowed, a feat that's especially impressive given how ineffective the offense has been. It's very much been a team effort, with the defensive line, linebackers and secondary all playing at a high collective level.

The best player on the defense is also the recipient of our MVP award, so this is the perfect place to give some shine to another difference-maker that hasn't gotten a lot of publicity. Gervon Dexter Sr. is only in his second year, but he's a star in the making on the defensive line. He leads the team with three sacks, and his six hits on the quarterback have played a big part in the Bears allowing less than 175 yards per game through the air.

We knew the Bears defense was in a good spot heading into the season, but the one area of concern was if anyone could step up to complement Montez Sweat as a pass-rushing threat, especially after the Bears missed out on trading for Matthew Judon from the Patriots during training camp. Dexter showed flashes as a rookie last year, and now he's blossoming into a foundational piece of the defense. Just look at these numbers:

That's pretty incredible for a guy that began playing football in his junior year of high school. Dexter is only scratching the surface of his prodigious talent, and Bears fans can't wait to see what he does next.

Chicago Bears first quarter Most Improved Player: Caleb Williams

Usually, a Most Improved Player award is given to the player who has made a big leap from last year. For these Bears, that would be Dexter, but since he won the Defensive Player of the Year award, we thought it would be better to pivot to a different question. Which player has improved the most from Week 1 until now?

To me, that answer is clearly Caleb Williams. Caleb became the first quarterback taken number one to win the debut game of his rookie season but to be fair, he had little to do with the outcome. The Bears won that game with defense and special teams, and Caleb, who had less than 100 yards passing, was just along for the ride.

As each week has passed though, the rookie has clearly gotten more comfortable. He still struggled against the Texans and DeMeco Ryans' defense in Week 2, but he did make some strides, notably on quick-timing passes, even as his offensive line let him down again and again. His stat line exploded against the Colts the following week, as he threw for 363 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns while showing undeniable chemistry with fellow rookie Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet.

Caleb didn't light up the stat sheet against the Rams, but he played with a veteran's poise while committing zero turnovers for the first time in his young career. He completed over 73 percent of his passes, a season-high, and he finally found DJ Moore in the end zone for the first of what should be many touchdown connections.

Jayden Daniels should be the favorite for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at this moment in time. He's looked spectacular in rejuvenating the Commanders offense, but don't count Caleb out just yet. He has the arm, he has the leadership skills, and he's getting better every week. Bears fans should feel great about him as the face of the franchise.

Chicago Bears first quarter MVP: Jaylon Johnson

It had to be someone from the defense that won the first-quarter MVP award, and for my money, it just doesn't get any better than Jaylon Johnson. He already has two interceptions, which means he's halfway to last year's total when he was named a second-team All-Pro, but that's not the real reason he's been the most valuable player on the Bears. He wins this award because when opposing offenses draw up their schemes for the week, he's the one player they have to gameplan around, and he makes every one of his teammates' lives easier because of it.

Just as Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman eliminated one side of the field during their heydays, Jaylon is a lockdown corner that offensive coordinators just refuse to test. In 2023, quarterbacks would have been statistically better off throwing the ball into the ground than going after Jaylon in coverage, and he's doing it again this year. He's allowed just seven receptions through four games, and he's already batted away four passes.

It's worth noting that Jaylon's two interceptions have come against Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, two young signal-callers who aren't experienced enough to know better yet. CJ Stroud is young as well, but he's on a completely different level from those two, and Matthew Stafford is a smart veteran. It's telling that they mostly stayed far away from Jaylon's side of the field.

Jaylon signed a four-year $76 million extension this season, and between several inferior corners subsequently signing richer deals and his own continued stellar play, that contract already looks like a major bargain.

If not for Jaylon and the defense, the Bears would be either 1-3 or 0-4. Having such a reliable presence on that side of the ball has given Caleb and the offense time to figure things out without digging too deep a hole in the standings, and the hope is that everything will all come together in these next few weeks and the Bears will be able to roll through a soft portion of the schedule. We'll have our preview of Panthers-Bears later in the week, but suffice it to say, Andy Dalton is going to do his best to keep the ball as far away from Jaylon as possible.