During Ben Johnson’s initial open OTA, he highlighted a few clear signs of progress. The Bears’ smoother huddle, quicker decision-making before snaps and Caleb Williams’ improved completion rate stood out as early indicators in their second year under the new system.
Johnson said the Bears are off to a good start through their opening OTA practices and that the operation is smoother than a year ago, when new schemes were still being installed. He pointed to communication in the huddle, the break, the urgency to the line of scrimmage and the tempo Chicago wants to use to stress defences.
Williams completed 58.1% of his passes last season, ranking 32nd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks, and down from the 62.5% mark he posted as a rookie.
His -6.9 completion percentage over expected was the lowest in the league among players with at least 200 attempts. Johnson has been monitoring those numbers throughout OTAs and recently addressed them again in meetings.
The context isn’t entirely against him, though. According to PFF, Bears receivers dropped 34 of his passes, which was the third-most in the league, and Chicago’s drop rate of 5.1% ranked fourth-highest overall.
Williams’ practice reps back up the coaching points
Williams was sharp during Thursday’s session, making quick decisions and hitting his targets. During the final 7-on-7 period, he connected with Zavion Thomas on a fade near the left sideline, found Rome Odunze in a tight window and hit D’Andre Swift on a wheel route — all throws that rely on touch and timing.
Quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett has taken a direct approach, telling Williams to “do less” and simply take what the defence offers. Last season, Williams averaged 3.20 seconds per throw, the second-longest time in the league behind Shedeur Sanders.
Chicago returns Swift and Kyle Monangai, the only NFL teammates last season to both rush for at least 750 yards. Swift finished with 1,087 yards on 4.9 per carry, and Monangai added 783 as a seventh-round rookie.
That backfield keeps Williams out of constant long-yardage passing. A cleaner huddle, a credible run game and fewer drops turn Williams’ completion goal into a project the whole offence pushes toward, instead of a stat sitting on the quarterback alone.
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