Not that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams needed a reminder of it, but even after a thrilling playoff win and buoyant offseason pushed his popularity to a new peak, this is still very much Ben Johnson’s team.
Johnson runs the show, and when the Bears begin training camp Wednesday, what he says goes. While he raved about Williams’ talent — “He’s got it all,” he said — as players reported to Halas Hall on Tuesday, he emphasized the necessary steps from potential to true stardom that his quarterback still must take.
It’ll require quite a leap from Williams in completion percentage as he works to sharpen the basics and become a better clockwork passer. The big plays are still going to be there, but he needs a solid foundation underneath them.
Among players who threw at least 250 passes last season, Williams finished last in the NFL with a 58.1 completion percentage. That was after Johnson opened training camp a year ago saying the standard was 70%, in practices and games.
Johnson laughed when asked Tuesday if he’d ease off that number. Absolutely not.
“It’s always going to be the goal,” Johnson said. “You’re going to have a darn good offense if your quarterback’s completing 70% of the balls thrown.”
The Bears were ninth in scoring at 25.9 points per game and sixth in total offense, but that was due firstly to the third-ranked rushing attack. They were 10th in passing as Williams’ completion percentage floundered and he finished with a 90.1 passer rating.
He completed 60% or more of his passes six times out of 19 starts, including the playoffs. Meanwhile, fellow 2024 first-round pick Drake Maye of the Patriots led the league at 72%, and 16 others, including MVP Matthew Stafford, were at 65% or higher.
Pro Football Reference graded Williams at just 69.8% of his passes being on target, also last in the NFL. The league average was 74.9%, and the 49ers’ Brock Purdy led at 82.2%.
No statistic determines everything, and certainly Williams made up for his inconsistency with late-game heroics. But while the stunning highlights show the high end of where his ability could take him, the overall inefficiency reflects a need to become “a master of his craft,” as general manager Ryan Poles said Tuesday.
Poles said Williams’ tenacity at the end of games and relentless desire to win encouraged him. However, as Williams enters Year 3, he needs to grasp that the path to winning Super Bowls starts with excellence in aspects that aren’t particularly exciting.
To complete 70% of his passes, he’ll have to be quicker and more accurate on short throws that keep the offensive moving a few yards at a time.
“Anytime these guys mature, they start to realize what the work looks like and that those little details matter when you show up on game day,” Poles said. “I expect him to continue to grow in that area.”
Johnson doesn’t want Williams to become robotic, but the Bears’ personnel and the offensive scheme are designed for precision. A five-yard pass in the right place at the right time can do damage if Colston Loveland, D’Andre Swift or Luther Burden is catching it.
Johnson described an ideal blend of “consistently delivering the ball where it needs to go” and putting on “that Superman cape when the time calls for it.” Sounds good.
He has tried multiple approaches to help Williams fix his throwing accuracy, which seemed to mystify him as a rookie when he completed just 62.5% of his passes after completing 68.6% in his final season at USC.
The simple answer is that everything in the NFL is harder: there’s more pressure in the pocket, openings to hit a receiver close faster and mistakes are magnified because games are tighter.
Johnson sat down with Williams to analyze all 271 incomplete passes he threw last season to identify what should’ve happened and illuminate areas for improvement. The coach described that as “fun,” and acknowledged some of it was his fault for play designs that didn’t get the primary option open.
But he also revisited some points Williams has heard before, especially the loose footwork that Matt Eberflus’ staff addressed in 2024.
Johnson tasked Williams with straightening that out, literally, in the offseason. If his feet aren’t pointed at his target, he’s making it a lot harder on himself. He thought Williams did “a great job” on that in his training, but full-speed practices are the true test.
Johnson also underscored the importance of Williams recognizing and processing coverages faster. That’s partly why he plans, for now, to resist the impulse to expand the offense in favor of allowing Williams to get a firmer grip on what they’re already running.
“I have this urge as an offensive guy to … innovate and push the limits a little bit,” Johnson said. “Yet at the same time, what’s best for him is to continue to bank some of these reps.”
Everyone wants to see Johnson’s version of pushing the limit of offensive creativity. But Williams needs to be totally proficient for him to start exploring new territory.
