Year 2 of Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears is soon to be underway as the NFL season nears. After a 1st season that ended very underwhelming, the Bears are looking to bounce back and climb their way up the tough NFC North.
One of the most hyped up quarterback prospects ever, Caleb Williams will look to turn the tides in 2025. There were a lot of big expectations for Williams that he did not meet in 2024, but there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around.
Williams will be surrounded by an entirely different system this year after the Bears hired Ben Johnson to take over as head coach. Chicago saw Johnson's ultimate success in Detroit as the Lions' offensive coordinator and decided to steal him from their inner division rivals.
The first thing Chicago did this offseason was revamp their offensive line. Their first three orders of business were trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and signing Drew Dalman as well to take over center. Thuney, Dalman, and Jackson will fill the large gaps on this Bears new offensive line.
Last year the Bears ranked 26th in rushing offense, one of their glaring struggles to complete their 5-12 season in 2024. D'Andre Swift will look for a bounce back year in Chicago behind his new body guards.
Chicago used the draft to their advantage after drafting two key offensive weapons. With their first pick, the Bears selected Colston Loveland, a tight end out of Michigan. Loveland was highly regarded as one of the most talented tight ends in this year's class, so the Bears were not willing to pass up talent like that.
In the 2nd round, Luther Burden was taken off the board, one of the fastest and shiftiest receivers in this past year's draft class. Burden will add to an already stacked receiving corps consisting of DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Contributing to the woes of the Bears 5-12 season in 2024 was their defense as well. Luckily for Chicago, they improved a whole lot. Signing Grady Jarrett to man the defensive line alongside Montez Sweat was just the start.
Chicago also signed Dayo Odeyingbo and extended Kyler Gordon to keep their secondary intact for years to come. On paper, the Bears are looking like a team that most will not have a fun time running into. At the same time, a lot of us were saying the same thing just a year ago.
Nothing is going to come easy this season to Chicago, especially when 6 of their 17 games will come against NFC North foes. Will this be the year that the Bears break their playoff drought and make it back to the NFC Playoffs?
