New Bears head coach Ben Johnson took one look at Caleb Williams’ league-leading sack total in 2024 and wasted no time overhauling the Chicago offensive line.
It makes sense that Johnson, the former QB-whispering Lions offensive coordinator who waited patiently for the right head coaching gig, would make drastic moves to shore up protection for Williams, for the fate of coach and quarterback are inextricably linked. Johnson surely knows that another uneven campaign from his young quarterback could put Johnson on the fast track to Hot Seat status in Chicago.
Johnson was brought to Chicago to salvage Williams.
The Bears over the past month spent $42 million over three years for center Drew Dalman, traded a fourth round draft pick to the Chiefs in exchange for top-flight guard Joe Thuney, and acquired guard Jonah Jackson from the Rams for a sixth rounder. The cast of big boys protecting Williams will be nearly unrecognizable from 2024, when the rookie absorbed an NFL-leading 68 sacks along with 241 pressures, the third highest mark in the league.
These are inarguably good moves for Johnson and the Bears: Pro Football Focus last season graded Dalman as the league’s 12th best pass-blocking center and Thuney was third best among guards.
There remain stubborn questions about whether Williams’ gobsmacking 2024 sack numbers were his line’s fault, his fault, or some difficult-to-parse blend of the two.
Last fall you probably turned on a Bears game or came across a RedZone highlight (or lowlight) in which Williams was scrambling for his life fifteen yards behind the line of scrimmage, fake pumping and evading defenders and sprinting from one sideline to the other, waiting for someone — anyone — to get open in the dysfunctional Chicago offense. These hair-on-fire plays often ended with Williams overthrowing a pass catcher downfield, throwing into double or triple coverage, or taking a catastrophic, drive-killing sack.
Williams, for all his rookie year flaws, was far from the worst quarterback when faced with pressure from oncoming rushers. He ranked 11th out of 40 qualifying QBs in completion rate over expected when pressured, though his catchable ball rate in such scenarios ranked near the bottom — 37th out of 40 quarterbacks, alongside Jameis Winston and Anthony Richardson.
It was Caleb’s performance from a clean pocket that should cause the most angst among Bears faithful. He was 0.7 percent over his expected completion rate from a clean pocket in 2024, fifth lowest among qualifying QBs. Only Richardson had a lower catchable ball rate from clean pockets.
