Sportsnaut
New Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson spent 2022-2024 as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. Over those three years, Detroit’s offense ranked top 6 all three seasons in points per game, total yards per game, first downs per game, and red zone percentage.
In his first 3 games as a rookie, Caleb Williams only completed 59% of his passes while throwing 2 TDs with 4 INTs. Over his last 14 games, he completed 63% of his passes for 18 TDs / 2 INTs while also rushing for over 400 yards.
On the downside, he fumbled at least one time in each of his last 5 games (Dec / Jan) while losing 3 of those fumbles. Lastly, he didn’t throw a TD pass to anyone outside of his top trio of receivers and top tight end.
D’Andre Swift didn’t flourish as a 250+ carry back in his first year with the Bears, averaging a mediocre 3.8 yards per carry. To be fair, everyone struggled in the running game. During a 7-game stretch between Week 4 and Week 11, Swift rushed for 567 yards on 4.8 ypc with 5 rushing TDs while also catching all 22 of his targets for 197 yards.
Over his following 7 games, he only managed 327 rush yards on 3.3 ypc with 1 TD while catching 14 passes on 20 targets for 143 yards.
In his second season, Johnson’s ypc fell from 4.3 as a rookie to an abysmal 2.7. His receptions were also cut in half year-over-year from 34 to 16. However, the bigger back did increase his rushing TDs from 2 in 2023 to 6 last season on 200 fewer carries.
Monangai is a great complement to Swift and Johnson. He’s not as fast as Swift or as big as Johnson, but offers a blend of their talent. He could be the Goldilocks of the 3 (Chicago) Bears in the backfield, as his skill set would fit just right to maximize runs in minimal spots. He looks to quickly get up field off of a shoulder fake, paired with quick cuts while finishing with strong contact balance.
Over the first 9 games last year only managed 40 / 398 / 3 with a 61% catch rate. As Williams developed, Moore flourished in the last 8 games with 58 / 568 / 3 on an impressive 78% catch rate, despite Allen not missing any games.
Odunze’s growth in Year 2 provide ample opportunity for Rome’s rise. Allen accounted for 120+ targets in just 15 games last year for Chicago, limiting Odunze’s role. In the last of those two games missed, Odunze stepped up to have his best game with 6 receptions on 11 targets for 112 yards (18..7 ypr) and a TD.
In college, Burden had 2 seasons with multiple rushing TDs. As a rookie, he’ll be...
