Caleb Williams
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How will the Chicago Bears passing offense shake out in its first year under Ben Johnson
Head coach Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears to do something that nobody else in franchise history has done… turn the Bears into one of the NFL’s best offenses. Of course, there have been blips over the years where Chicago ranked as one of the league’s top offenses, but no coach has proven to be able do this year in and year out. Although 2025 will be Johnson’s first year at the helm, it will be viewed as an indicator of what’s to come.
What Bears fans will be most interested in is not just if, but how quickly Ben Johnson can bring out the best in second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. As a lifelong Bears fan myself, I know the Windy City is starved for a competent passing offense, so today, I’ll be serving up an amuse bouche, so to speak. Here are my projections for the Chicago Bears passing offense in 2025.
Caleb Williams Makes Chicago Bears History
Before the season began, Ben Johnson challenged Caleb Williams to complete 70% of his passes in 2025 after completing 62.5% (31st in the NFL) during his rookie season. Unfortunately, even though Jared Goff did it last year while playing for Ben Johnson in Detroit, I don’t see it happening for the 23-year-old QB in 2025.
Fortunately, there’s another statistical marker that Bears fans would likely be even more interested in seeing Caleb Williams reach in his second season in the NFL. In over 100 seasons of professional football, the Chicago Bears have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a single season. And before you do a quick Google search to see if there are any other franchises that haven’t had a 4,000 yard passer, the answer is ‘no.’ The Bears are the only team.
Theoretically, this tremendously sad streak could come to an end in 2025. Goff got to the 4,000 yard mark in each of the last three seasons, and Chicago’s roster is loaded with the kind of weapons you’d need to manufacture an elite passing offense. But man, it’s been a whole damn century and not once has a QB donning the Navy Blue and Orange reached that mark.
That is, until 2025… call me an optimist, or maybe I’m just crazy, but I think our long-running nightmare finally ends this season.
Caleb Williams’ Projected 2025 Totals: 370-567, 65.2% completion, 4,064 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
Rome Odunze Becomes ‘The Man’ While DJ Moore Takes a Slight Step Back
Caleb Williams’ chemistry issues with DJ Moore have been a hot topic in Chicago even before Williams officially became a Bear, when Moore advocated for Justin Fields to return for another season as QB1. Moore had set a career-high in receiving yards (1,364) in 2023, but then saw his production dip under 1,000 yards in Williams’ first campaign. Most disappointing? Moore, who had been a big play threat all throughout his career, saw his yards per reception dip to under 10.
I think that figure bounces back in 2025, but with many more mouths to feed, I don’t expect Moore to get the same target share this season as he has in the past. Williams looked Moore’s way 140 times in 2024, the most of any pass-catcher by 19 targets, and 39 more than Rome Odunze. That won’t be the case this year.
Many have forecasted the Rome Odunze break out season, including Bears wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, who told ESPN that Odunze would have a bigger role in the offense than he did in his rookie season. Even if the second-year wideout doesn’t climb into the top tier of pass-catchers in the league, I do expect him to make some Bears history of his own this year.
13 different Bears wide receivers have topped the 1,000 yard mark in a single season. This year, Rome Odunze makes it 14.
Rome Odunze’s Projected 2025 Totals: 81 receptions, 1,021 yards, 7 touchdowns
DJ Moore’s Projected 2025 Totals: 78 receptions, 897 yards, 6 touchdowns
Colston Loveland, Luther Burden Find Roles in Rookie Season
As excited as I am about what the future may hold for rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, I made a conscious effort to temper my expectations for their first seasons.
Colston Loveland is going to be heavily involved in the passing game right away, and there’s a chance I’m actually being too conservative with his projections. The logical comparison for Loveland is Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, who exploded for 86 receptions, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in his rookie season under Ben Johnson. Everyone seems to have already forgotten about that though after Brock Bowers went absolutely nuclear in his rookie campaign last year.
Loveland won’t sniff those Bowers numbers, and even coming close to matching LaPorta’s feels like a tough ask considering how many targets Caleb Williams figures to send Odunze and Moore’s way. But if Loveland went over all of my projections, I wouldn’t be stunned. LaPorta’s year two numbers (60 receptions, 726 yards, 5 touchdowns) feel attainable, especially if Loveland proves to be a good enough blocker where Ben Johnson can’t justify taking him off the field.
To be honest, I had no idea what to do with Luther Burden. On one hand, the raw potential is difficult to ignore. Any time Burden gets the ball in his hands, there’s a chance it’s gonna be a home run. But he’s going to have to beat out the very trustworthy Olamide Zaccheaus for reps in the slot, and if he’s still having troubles pre-snap, his playing time could be limited.
Colston Loveland’s Projected 2025 Totals: 52 receptions, 546 yards, 5 touchdowns
Luther Burden’s Projected 2025 Totals: 33 receptions, 398 yards, 3 touchdowns
Veterans Serve as Solid Secondary Options
We’ve seen D’Andre Swift operate in a Ben Johnson offense before, and in that one season, he caught 48 passes for 389 yards and 3 touchdowns. As you’ll soon see, I didn’t drift too far off those numbers, even though the team and the situation has changed.
We know that in Detroit, the slot receiver played a very big role in Ben Johnson’s offense, and that could mean that Olamide Zaccheaus is a bigger part of the offense than we would’ve expected back in May. But I get a sneaking suspicion that by mid-season, many of the concerns the Bears have about Luther Burden won’t be too concerning any more.
Just because Colston Loveland figures to get more targets at the tight end position, it doesn’t mean we should write Cole Kmet off just yet. Ben Johnson won’t be shy about his 12 personnel usage, and Kmet is a well-respected locker room leader who won’t be cast off just because the future at the position in Chicago is Loveland. With that said, don’t be surprised if Kmet’s output is his lowest since his rookie season.
D’Andre Swift’s Projected 2025 Totals: 40 receptions, 389 yards, 1 touchdown
Olamide Zaccheaus’ Projected 2025 Totals: 34 receptions, 348 yards, 2 touchdowns
Cole Kmet’s Projected 2025 Totals: 31 receptions, 321 yards, 3 touchdowns
Everyone Else: 18 receptions, 144 yards, 1 touchdown