Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears kicked off their one and only mandatory veteran minicamp today, and it’ll last three days, ending on Thursday. They’ll have one more voluntary OTA session from June 9 through 11, and then they’ll be off until Training Camp opens in July. Getting some real football reports from Halas Hall helps give us a sense of how detail-oriented head coach Ben Johnson is, and how much he expects from his players.
High expectations will push them to their limits and allow them to be their best versions of themselves, which should lead to an improvement from last year’s five wins, and in turn lead to some individual accolades.
The play calling on both sides of the ball should be better, and the 2025 version of the Bears has more talent than we’ve seen in some time, so who could be a first-time Pro Bowler after this season?
Last year’s quarterbacks in the NFC were Jared Goff, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Jayden Daniels, who did not play. If Caleb Williams improves in Ben Johnson’s offense, I can see him pushing for a spot in the NFC.
Center Drew Dalman is an ascending player whose best football is in front of him, and with four-time Pro Bowler Frank Rangow retiring in Detroit, that makes his path a little clearer.
Darnell Wright has had elite flashes both years as a pro, and his 2024 was even better than his rookie season. Another jump in play, and I could see him opening some eyes around the league.
Other candidates are Kyler Gordon, Gervon Dexter, Jaquan Brisker, Rome Odunze, and even rookie tight end Colston Loveland if he settles into the move tight end role of the offense.
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