PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson took time this past weekend to craft his presentation for players who return for the start of Chicago's offseason program. Some light procrastination tends to help Johnson do his best work, but the gist of the message he aims to get across when speaking in front of his veterans is one he already knows.
"Listen, it's a different regime," Johnson said. "What happened last year was last year. We're moving on. We're moving past that."
No one will feel that more than quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2024 first overall pick, who was sacked a league-high 68 times during the Bears' 5-12 season. Within the past month, the Bears have significantly altered the roster around Williams with the additions of left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman and right guard Jonah Jackson. They also added veteran quarterback Case Keenum, who can help mentor Williams.
And perhaps the biggest changes that will be felt by the quarterback who posted the fifth-best passing season in franchise history (3,541 yards) but ranked 28th QBR (46.7) as a rookie will be the scheme he's about to learn, or perhaps, in the expectations.
"To me, it was more of creating an environment to challenge [Williams] more than it was to -- I don't know another word -- but kind of baby him along," general manager Ryan Poles told ESPN. "I think there's a space for building someone's confidence, but I think you have to be demanding and challenging of the expectations of what you're looking for. I think guys respond to that really well, and I think he needs that and desires that."
Johnson and Williams won't embark on any on-field work until Phase 3 of the offseason program begins May 12 but will start laying the foundation of a new offense in meetings throughout early April.
Johnson did not detail at the NFL's annual meeting any wholesale changes he expects to make to Williams' skill set. The Bears aren't asking the 23-year-old to change which foot he drops back with or change fundamental elements of his game.
"I don't know if there's any undoing, but there are some things that we're going to encourage that he looks to do a little bit differently," Johnson said. "He's been predominantly a shotgun quarterback for most of his high school and college career, and so he's very comfortable there. We're going to work to see the comfort level under center and how much of that applies. We had a lot of success [in Detroit] that going under center for the run game did translate in play-action."
During Johnson's three seasons as the Lions' offensive coordinator, Detroit called the highest percentage of plays with the quarterback under center (49.9%) and saw that number spike last season at 56.2%, which was the highest under center rate for any team since 2020, according to ESPN Research. Detroit's offense was also one of the most successful in the NFL under those circumstances.
Detroit ranked first in yards per play (6.3) and second in EPA per play (0.12) while the offense was under center from 2022 to 2024. Quarterback Jared Goff saw his QBR jump from 63 to 73, his completion percentage increase from 67% to 72%, his yards per attempt increase by 2.1 and his sack percentage decrease by 2% while under center. Goff threw fewer interceptions (nine) and saw his EPA per dropback increase from 0.14 to 0.28, which ranked fourth in the league.
Williams had seven career pass attempts under center in college. His six at USC were inside the opponent's 3-yard line, while his one attempt at Oklahoma was a fourth-and-2 from the opponent's 22-yard line, a spot where the Sooners were trying to get a short gain to pick up a first down or touchdown.
As a rookie, Williams had only 84 dropbacks under center compared to 575 in the shotgun. His QBR was significantly higher out of the shotgun (52 compared to 25 under center), but he averaged more yards per attempt while under center (due to his receivers generating more yards after the catch) and saw his sack percentage decrease by 2.1%.
"He's done it," Johnson said. "It's just the comfort level. It's time on task. It's, how many reps can we get under his belt where he feels better and better about taking drops under center? I'm more prone to the play-action game underneath because I do think the longer action, the longer fake, does tend to hold the second level for a little bit longer. That's where you get your chunks, your shots, behind them.
"There is merit for looking to develop that part of his game. The truth is, even if we do invest and we decide that's not the direction we want to go too far in, it's still really worthwhile for him to have that time on. Because it's going to translate to the shotgun as well."
Williams going under center more could allow for the Bears to run more play-action, which Johnson's offenses experienced success with. The Lions were first in play-action rate last season (36.1%) while the Bears ranked 30th (18.5%).
Like he did prior to his rookie season, Williams has spent the offseason working with his private quarterbacks coach, Will Hewlett, on taking snaps under center and his footwork on play-action dropbacks.
Beyond using the offseason months to work on his mechanics, Johnson's plan for Williams will consist of hitting the metrics that determine quarterback success. The Bears' coach pointed to EPA per play as a statistic he values more heavily than turnovers or takeaways at determining how well a quarterback and the passing offense performs. A QB's completion percentage is critical to achieving that, and finding ways to increase Williams' 62.5% completion percentage (31st among qualified QBs) will begin next week.
So will "limiting" the number of coaches who are directly communicating to Williams, according to Johnson, and finding new ways to challenge and hold the young quarterback accountable.