Last year, when he took over, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson laid out his plans for quarterback Caleb Williams. Among the things at the top of the agenda was improving his completion percentage. This was somewhat of a surprise. Plenty of experts have tried downplaying completion percentage as a stat of any significance when evaluating quarterbacks. Yet Johnson stated that he felt it was critical to help improve overall offensive efficiency. The goal was for Williams to reach 70%.

Well, it didn’t happen. The Bears quarterback finished around 58% for the season, which was down from his rookie year. Now, not all of this was Williams’ fault. Several of his passes were throwaways to avoid turnovers, and several others were dropped by his receivers. That said, there were inaccurate moments and times he passed up easier throws, trying to make big plays. Johnson seems intent on smoothing all of that out. He made that clear at OTAs on Thursday. It also included additional details on why it’s so important.

Caleb Williams’ completion percentage ties directly to team YAC.

“Well, I think you get what you emphasize, that’s what I’ve learned in this industry, and ball security, takeaways is something we emphasize. We’ll continue to emphasize it. That shows up. Completion percentage is something that we’re going to emphasize, and so what did they get when they came into the offensive meeting today? They got the chart of what was our completion percentage yesterday, who had drops, what did our scramble drill look like, when those naturally occurred. And so that’s really our first objective is just drawing more attention to it.

Those guys are really critical of themselves in drill settings, routes on air, where the ball placement is. We want to give these pass catchers – we have so many talented ones – opportunities to run after the catch, and so we’re being very critical on where we’re putting that football with them, and that’s something that we grade every day.”

It’s finally starting to make sense.

Johnson never seemed to make a stink about completion percentage when he was in Detroit. That was because he had Jared Goff at quarterback, who routinely ranks among the NFL’s highest completion percentages each year. The more passes you complete, the greater your opportunities for your offensive weapons to turn a short play into a big one. This is reflected in the YAC rankings last season.

There it is. Johnson’s directive seems pretty clear from that. Drake Maye was the only quarterback to cross the 70% threshold in completed passes. It’s probably no coincidence that his team also led the league in yards after the catch. By the look of things, you need to get at least into the 67% range to be assured a high number. Williams has a ways to go before he reaches that tier. Johnson seems intent on grilling him on it every day until they get there.

Can Williams reach that range?

This is a difficult question to answer. Quarterbacks who tend to have higher completion percentages are your classic types. They sit in the pocket and distribute like a point guard. That isn’t Caleb Williams’ game. He is a highly mobile athlete who is an artist outside the pocket. Such improvisation makes completing passes a little more challenging, partly because routes are harder to predict and partly because the quarterback often searches for the big play in those situations. When you look at the most prominent mobile QBs of the past two decades, you’ll find that their career average completion percentage never gets above 64%.

Only two of those names (Rodgers and Watson) ever reached 70% in a season. That means Williams either must take fewer risks when outside the pocket or stop scrambling as much and become more of a pocket-oriented passer. That presents a conundrum for Johnson, since Williams’ improvisational ability was a big reason the Bears won so many games last year. Finding a middle ground must be the goal moving forward.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is a smart guy. He rarely does anything off the cuff. In other words, his comments to the media are often deliberate. While he isn’t afraid to speak from the heart at times, much of what he says often comes across as his way of sending a message to his players. We saw that early last season when he plainly stated that the players’ preparation was not yet at a championship level. That is why his comments about Luther Burden during the start of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) felt pretty notable.

Johnson doesn’t level praise easily. He only gives it to players he feels earn it. From the sound of things, the second-year wide receiver has surprised the head coach with how much progress he’s made since last season.

“I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now. He has been extremely coachable … He looks like he’s playing at a different speed right now. He is not thinking as much. The game is slowing down for him.”

Burden has already had multiple explosive plays in practice. His approach to the offseason has been “electric,” showcasing a work ethic that many felt he didn’t have coming out of Missouri. It sure sounds like expectations for him are growing rapidly, which was one of the Bears’ biggest hopes.

Johnson’s statement on Luther Burden carried another layer.

It felt like a pretty clear signal that his workload is about to grow significantly. Burden had 60 targets last season, good for fifth on the team. With D.J. Moore being traded to Buffalo, it was only natural that he’d likely get some of that target share. However, based on Johnson’s comments, it may go beyond that. There is a real possibility that the Bears see him as their new primary wide receiver, including over Rome Odunze, who led the team with 90 targets last season. That probably wasn’t something many expected.

Current projections have Colston Loveland being the primary target in the passing game this season after his stellar finish to 2025. He’s become a favorite target of quarterback Caleb Williams. Most just assumed that Odunze would slot into that spot right behind him as the primary wide receiver. These Luther Burden comments suggest that it isn’t a given. Odunze missed a lot of time last season with foot problems, and the head coach didn’t draft him. We must not forget that.

Johnson likely sees Burden as Jameson Williams.

Not in direct comparison, but more the role the receiver plays in his offense. In 2024, Williams had the second-most targets on the team, trailing only Amon-Ra St. Brown. Since the Bears don’t have a St. Brown type on this roster, it stands to reason that Luther Burden will automatically become the go-to receiver in this passing attack while Loveland takes over the role of that dynamic target over the middle. It is likely why both players were drafted in the first place. This was always Johnson’s vision for them.

We saw a glimpse of what that offense could be last season. Against San Francisco, Burden had 138 yards and a touchdown, while Loveland had 94 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers had no answer for Chicago in those circumstances, allowing 38 points. That was the most they’d allowed to a non-divisional rival all season. If last year was merely a taste of the Burden we’ll soon get, one can understand Johnson’s excitement. The sky truly is the limit for this offense.

Part of being successful as an NFL scout is knowing how to track young prospects long before they become starters in college. General manager Ryan Poles always talks about keeping an eye on two or three years down the line for the NFL draft. It is the same thing for Chicago Bears scouts. They can’t just focus on juniors and seniors. It falls on them to also take careful note of incoming freshmen who might be worth keeping an eye on down the line. Apparently, that is what happened with Dillon Thieneman.

Back in 2023, Bears scout Francis St. Paul went to the Purdue University campus to get a look at some of the program’s senior players. Among them were running back Tyrone Tracy and defensive back Sanoussi Kane. However, every time St. Paul asked coaches and others in the building about the seniors, they would immediately bring up a freshman kid they promised would be a big deal in a couple of years. That was Thieneman. The safety had six interceptions that season and eventually became a top prospect at Oregon.

St. Paul recounted the story on 1920 Football Drive.

Dillon Thieneman represents a growing Bears draft strategy.

The video also mentioned that Bears scouts noticed similar things were said about Colston Loveland and Kyle Monangai. Both were “dudes” in the program the moment they arrived, even if they didn’t get immediate playing time. Coaches knew it was only a matter of time before they became major factors. It seems as if the Bears are steadily building their draft strategy around seeking out these types of stories and targeting those players. It certainly worked out great with Loveland and Monangai. Early signs are glowing for Thieneman.

This isn’t a terrible strategy. Players who had great freshman seasons in college often go on to have productive NFL careers. Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Taylor, Brock Bowers, Luke Kuechly, Julius Peppers, Dexter Lawrence, and A.J. Green are some notable examples of freshmen phenoms. Like everything else in draft evaluation, it isn’t a perfect science. Johnny Manziel was amazing as a freshman, too. That said, the trend is pretty consistent, and the Bears are leaning into it.

It is great how aligned the process is.

Seeing Bears scouts communicate so openly about what made Dillon Thieneman so attractive as a prospect shows that everybody is on the same page. They recognized immediately that the Oregon safety was precisely the type of player Poles and head coach Ben Johnson would covet. He’s smart, athletic, and highly competitive. His calm command when watching game film made it obvious he studies relentlessly. Nothing escapes his notice, which is why he acts like a coach on the field.

Nobody can argue that the Bears erred in their evaluation process. They did their homework. This wasn’t a last-second decision by the team. They’d been steadily gathering information on Thieneman for years. No corners were cut. They watched the tape, did the private meetings, and asked around about him as a person and teammate. All results came back glowing. The only thing left to do was turn in the card on draft night. If the safety doesn’t pan out, it won’t be because the Bears missed something.

Caleb Williams was one of the most highly-touted quarterback prospects to come out of college in a decade. When asked to describe him, both players and coaches tended to say the same things. Terrific arm strength, great mobility, and an elite knack for throwing on the run. Up through his first year in the NFL, every comment made about Williams was in various forms of that. Immense physical talent. No mention of his intelligence or prowess, if any, as a leader. Maybe not the best sign, right?

All of that has changed. During an interview with NFL Network, new Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant was asked about his first impressions of Williams. You’d expect the usual response: amazing arm, etc., etc. Instead, Bryant dropped this.

“Just an elite competitor, honestly. Great leader. Like I said before, it spoke volumes just him reaching out to me when I signed and, you know, him just paying his respect and vice versa. The sky’s the limit. He has a bright future.”

For a veteran player fresh off winning the Super Bowl to say that is incredibly telling. It is the first true confirmation that the narrative around Williams has shifted. While his physical talent remains obvious, his evolution as a leader is becoming more notable.

Caleb Williams showed signs of this evolution late last season.

Through the first couple of months, the quarterback operated as usual. He’d appear calm and collected most of the time, overly focused on his job before celebrating wildly after wins. Then, around December and into January, you saw the signs. Williams was becoming more vocal in the huddle and on the sidelines, engaging teammates with corrections and even shouting at them when mistakes were made. It was clear evidence that the young quarterback felt it was time to assume the mantle of leadership, undoubtedly nudged along by head coach Ben Johnson.

This was something many critics weren’t sure about when Williams came out of USC. The physical skills and athleticism were no-brainers. He had every tool imaginable to thrive in the NFL. What nobody knew for certain was whether the quarterback had the charisma and work ethic necessary to fill the role as a legitimate franchise cornerstone. Previous Bears QBs either seemed unable or unwilling to do that. Justin Fields never had the outward personality. Mitch Trubisky did, but couldn’t back it up on the field. Jay Cutler had incredible ability but a standoffish personality.

Williams feels like the first player in recent memory to finally check every box.

Bryant might be just what Williams needs.

The best way for the Bears quarterback to get better is by getting constantly challenged in practice. Few safeties in the NFL are better at that than Bryant. His versatility and intelligence were a vital part of Seattle’s Super Bowl-winning defense last season. He has elite intelligence, allowing him to put himself in spots that make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. This was a notable issue Caleb Williams dealt with last season. Smarter defenses found ways to frustrate him at times. Reaching that next step of identifying and exploiting small weaknesses is critical. Bryant can help show the way.

Competition in practice is what the Bears have been shooting for since Johnson arrived. He knows that the harder you can make things in practice, the easier things get on game days. This is why the Bears have made how players practice a major priority when scouting. Bryant is notorious for being a dedicated workout warrior. He goes 100 mph every day. It appears Williams is ready to match that energy. Hence, the confidence that big things are ahead both for him and the team.