Heading into the new season, the Chicago Bears are going to be one of the most changed teams on the field. Of course, they have new head coach in Ben Johnson from the Detroit Lions, and Johnson has made some major moves during the offseason, especially when it comes to the team’s offense.
Johnson will be working closely with quarterback Caleb Williams to hopefully give him the kind of seasons Chicago Bears fans were hoping to see during the 2024 season. One of the ways Johnson is helping Williams is by surrounding him with top talent. With that in mind, Dalton Wasserman at PFF has released a tally of the biggest impact offseason acquisition for each NFL team based on PFF data and research, and he praises the Chicago Bears for some of their decisions.
The Best Offseason Acquisition for the Bears
In the feature, Wasserman names the decision to bring on center Drew Dalman the best offseason acquisition for the Bears. His key metric is a 94.3 outside zone run-blocking grade since 2023, which is stellar. Overall, Wasserman praises the Bears of totally switching up their offense.
“The Bears overhauled their interior offensive line this offseason, and nobody is a better fit for Ben Johnson’s offense than their new center, Drew Dalman, who is one of the best outside zone blockers in the NFL,” Wasserman says in the feature. “His 94.3 run-blocking grade in those concepts since 2023 ranks second among centers and fourth among all offensive linemen.”
He adds, “That bodes well considering Johnson called outside zone runs at the fourth-highest rate in the NFL last season.”
Grading the Chicago Bears’ New Squad
In a separate feature, Trevor Sikkema of PFF grades all of the NFL teams for what moves they’re made during the offseason. Chicago Bears fans are going to absolutely love where he has the Bears, because they have an A+ grade. They’re also the only team with an A+ grade.
“It was an ideal offseason for the Bears,” Sikkema notes. “They made huge splashes in their coaching staff, not just with Ben Johnson as head coach but also with Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. They then traded for or signed Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman to solidify their starting offensive line.”
He added that the move enabled them to have a “best player available” approach during the draft, “which yielded Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and Ozzy Trapilo, among others. Chicago didn’t really address running back this offseason, but if the team was to put a lower priority on any position, that was the one.”
The team with the worst grade in the NFL, according to Sikkema, is the New Orleans Saints, who received a D-.
“It’s hard not to be harsh about the Saints’ offseason,” Sikkema states. “Unless you love the Kellen Moore hire at head coach — which was a good addition but not an immediate fix — there isn’t much to praise.”
He also warns that “New Orleans once again decided not to lean into a full rebuild, and their 2025 projection is that of another 5-12 team.”
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