When the Bears’ pass-catchers were done with their throwing session at USC this spring, Caleb Williams invited them out to dinner.
They went to The Bird Streets Club, a private club of which Williams is a member, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. When dinner was finished, they walked downstairs into a private room, where the quarterback had arranged for the Bears’ passing highlights to be played on a loop from a big-screen television.
The group relived all their greatest completions. When tight end Colston Loveland caught the 58-yard touchdown pass that eventually beat the Bengals in Week 9, they marveled at the play — and at head coach Ben Johnson sprinting down the sideline.
There were years when a collection of the Bears’ best passing clips wouldn’t have lasted very long or been very fun to watch. This year, they hope the highlight reel grows even longer.
Williams has the weapons to do it, with a better roster of targets than predecessors Mitch Trubisky or Justin Fields ever had. In fact, this has a chance to be the best receiving group since 2013, when the Bears boasted wideouts Alshon Jeffrey (1,421 receiving yards) and Brandon Marshall (1,295), tight end Martellus Bennett (759) and running back Matt Forte (594).
If wide receiver Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland make the leap many at Halas Hall believe they will in their second season — and if the Bears stay healthy — this year’s group should at the very least trump last year’s.
“So much talent,” Loveland said after practice Thursday. “Just so versatile — so many guys that can do a bunch of different things. That obviously benefits us a lot. And there’s so many weapons, it’s going to be tough for defenses to figure out what they want to do.”
The health situation got more complicated a week ago when wide receiver Rome Odunze — who missed five games last year and was hampered in several others with chronic foot issues — walked off the practice field during a walk-through with an injury to his right calf. On Thursday, he was limited in the practice report for a second straight day. Friday’s practice should go a long way in foretelling his availability for the season opener Sunday against the Panthers.
Burden, who hurt his groin during training camp, and rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas, who hurt his knee around the same time, are both absent from the injury report. Throw in wide receivers Kalif Raymond and Jahdae Walker, tight ends Cole Kmet and Sam Roush and running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai and there will be no shortage of targets. The Bears essentially have a basketball team on offense, with small, quick players, as well as explosive leapers and big bodies.
They signed Raymond and drafted Thomas as part of their push to add speed; at one point during camp, the Bears tracked seven receivers running at least 21 mph.
“The first thing I see is speed, as far as guys rolling downfield, running up on cats, making them back up,” quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett said. “I tell them all the time, we’ve got, like, prototype tight ends — thoroughbreds as they’re running downfield.”
Johnson notoriously said he wanted to buy Burden stock. Burden, meanwhile, predicts big things for Loveland.
“I see a breakout year,” Burden said.
Each player’s use will vary from week to week. Johnson — and, by extension, Williams — will have options.
“It’s up to them who’s going to be in on this many plays,” Williams said. “You’ve got to block. You’ve got to run off the ball. You’ve got to do your job. You’ve got to know where you are. You’ve got to know where you need to line up. And so, I think, like I said, it’s up to them. And we’ve got some good guys out there.”