The Chicago Bears fans should be excited about the potential of their football team, but also a bit cautious because neither side of the ball is without its question marks. Let's take a look at the players I project to start at each position in Week 1 when the Bears clash with the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, September 8.
Ben Johnson
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Here’s how I see it on offense and defense.
Offense
QB – Caleb Williams
RB – D’Andre Swift
WR – DJ Moore
WR – Rome Odunze
WR – Luther Burden III
TE – Cole Kmet
LT – Ozzy Trapillo
LG – Joe Thuney
C – Drew Dalman
RG – Jonah Jackson
RT – Darnell Wright
Defense
LDE – Montez Sweat
LDT – Grady Jarrett
RDT – Gervon Dexter Sr.
RDE – Dayo Odeyingbo
WLB – Tremaine Edmunds
MLB – TJ Edwards
SLB – Ruben Hyppolitte
LCB – Jaylon Johnson
SS – Jaquan Brisker
FS – Kevin Byard III
RCB – Terell Smith
NB – Kyler Gordon
Special Teams
K – Cairo Santos
P – Tory Taylor
PR – Luther Burden III
KR – Devin Duvernay
Take a look at the official team schedule here:
The key notes here are at RCB where I have Terell Smith overtaking Tyrique Stevenson. While talented, Stevenson has proven to be wildly immature and that's the kind of trend that isn't likely to sit well with new head coach Ben Johnson. Smith was strong in 2024 when he got an opportunity to play and showed flashes. I predict this will be a breakout year for him.
On offense, I see Ozzy Trapillo beating out Braxton Jones for the left tackle spot. The Bears didn't draft Trapillo in the second round for him to be a backup. And Jones has never proven to be more than a third OT at best on a good offensive line. That's what the Bears have now—at least on paper.
There will be plenty of rotation battles in training camp, but this group looks like the most logical and talented collection Chicago can line up with for a crucial divisional season opener.