The Chicago Bears offense will look a lot different in 2022. That much is obvious. New personnel and especially a new scheme under Luke Getsy make that inevitable. What nobody can say for sure is whether it will be better. In truth, it’s hard to be much worse. The unit was 24th in total yards and 27th in points scored last season. Many argue the roster is even worse now than it was then, which doesn’t bode well.
Then again, scheme changes can often have a more positive impact than people realize. It comes down to how well the players execute it. The Bears defense was a joke in 2014—one of the worst in franchise history. Then Vic Fangio arrived the following year, made changes, and got them to a top 10 finish in yards allowed. So here are some bold predictions of how the new offense will perform.
Chicago Bears offense will see some surprising changes.
Justin Fields improves his passer rating by 25 points.
Everybody is hoping the second-year quarterback takes a big step forward in 2022. His rookie season was ugly in many ways. Not all of it was his fault. The coaching was inadequate at best. Still, he has a responsibility to fix many of his mistakes. That will be challenging in a brand-new system. The good news is that system is ideal for somebody of his skill set with mobility and a great deep ball. While Fields won’t break any Bears single-season records, he will be far more efficient this season. After posting a 73.2 passer rating last year, expect that to jump to 98+.
Cole Kmet leads the team in touchdown catches.
Last season was a mixed bag for the former 2nd round pick. On the one hand, he became the first tight end in seven years to crack 600 yards receiving for the Bears. On the other, he failed to record a single touchdown catch. Kmet admits that stat haunted him the entire offseason. A guy who’s 6’6 with his strength and catch radius should be able to score way more often. Expect that to be a big emphasis for the Chicago Bears this year. He will see far more targets in the red zone than the ten he got last year. In addition to his work on catching mechanics, this will culminate in him leading everybody in TDs.
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Darnell Mooney cracks 1400 receiving yards.
One thing is already evident. Fields and Mooney are totally in sync. They’ve worked together from the moment the offseason began and already had obvious chemistry before last season ended. That will be the connection that drives the Bears passing game in 2022. It will be so potent that Mooney ends up passing an ultra-rare milestone. Only three receivers in team history have ever topped 1,400 yards in a single season. Marcus Robinson, Brandon Marshall, and Alshon Jeffery. Mooney will become the fourth as he gets the bulk of the targets, coupled with his obvious big-play prowess.
Khalil Herbert finishes with more rushing yards than David Montgomery
This one is going to shock a lot of people. Montgomery has been the engine of the Chicago Bears offense for two years. He’s also emerging as a team leader. There is no reason to think that will change despite a new system. Except, yes, there is. That is because Herbert is a picture-perfect fit for it. His mixture of vision and acceleration is ideal for a wide-zone offense because he’s able to know where the holes will be and can get downhill fast to slip through them. As the season goes on, it will become apparent he’s getting more pop plays than Montgomery, and the workload will eventually shift as a result.
