The Chicago Bears have been crowned the champions of the NFL offseason. They landed the top head coaching candidate in Ben Johnson, and found a way to fix their offensive line with the additions of Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman. Not only that, but they boosted their defense by bringing in Grady Jarrett, who was released by the Atlanta Falcons.
But the NFL Draft presented Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles to further mold the team in their image, especially on offense. In Round 1, the Bears selceted Michigan tight end Colston Loveland over Notre Dame's Tyler Warren. While Warren is the more exciting prospect, Loveland is still a great pick, and he is a better blocker.
On Friday night, the Bears used the 39th pick to select Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III. Burden was one of the top wide receiver prospects in the class, and was projected to go in the first round. But the Bears stopped his slide to further boost their wide receiver room.
Now, the pressure is on Williams to live up to the hype as the 2024 first-overall pick. Let's take a look at the offense.
Bears' offensive depth chart after drafting Luther Burden III in second round
Here's what the depth chart looks like at the major positions on offense:
- WR: DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Devin Duvernay, Tyler Scott, Olamide Zaccheaus, Miles Boykin, John Jackson, Maurice Alexander, Samori Toure
- TE: Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Durham Smythe, Stephen Carlson, Joel Wilson
- RB: D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler
- LT: Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadije
- LG: Joe Thuney, Bill Murray, Jordan McFadden
- C: Drew Dalman, Doug Kramer Jr., Chris Glaser
- RG: Jonah Jackson, Ryan Bates, Rickey Stromberg
- RT: Darnell Wright, Joshua Miles, Theo Benedet
First off, the wide receiver depth chart. The team made the big move last season for Keenan Allen, but opted against re-signing him. So, wide receiver was always a need for the Bears, and now, they get one of the top wide receiver prospects in Burden. On paper, that should be solid to compet ein what is a competitive NFC North division.
The Bears could feasibly run 12-personnel with Loveland and Cole Kmet. Having two security blankets at the position should do wonders for Williams.
Running back is still led by D'Andre Swift, who had a bit of a down year, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry after running for 959 yards on 253 carries. It will be interesting to see if the Bears add another running back through the draft, as the position is deep in the 2025 class.
As mentioned earlier, the Bears' offensive line is incredibly improved on paper, especially on the interior. Last season, Williams was sacked 68 times for a loss of 466 yards, both most for any quarterback in the NFL. The offensive line surely won't be as bad as it was last year. But this is the offseason. Bears fans want to see the results on the gridiron.
The offense is much more improved on paper in Williams' sophomore year. Now, it's up to him to do his part and help lead the Bears franchise to success.