Inside the Bears' Game Plan: How Ben Johnson Is Set to Push Caleb Williams Beyond His Comfort Zone and Ignite a New Offensive Era

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson took time this past weekend to craft his presentation for players who return for the start of Chicago's offseason program. Some light procrastination tends to help Johnson do his best work, but the gist of the message he aims to get across when speaking in front of his veterans is one he already knows.

"Listen, it's a different regime," Johnson said. "What happened last year was last year. We're moving on. We're moving past that."

No one will feel that more than quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2024 first overall pick, who was sacked a league-high 68 times during the Bears' 5-12 season. Within the past month, the Bears have significantly altered the roster around Williams with the additions of left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman and right guard Jonah Jackson. They also added veteran quarterback Case Keenum, who can help mentor Williams.

And perhaps the biggest changes that will be felt by the quarterback who posted the fifth-best passing season in franchise history (3,541 yards) but ranked 28th QBR (46.7) as a rookie will be the scheme he's about to learn, or perhaps, in the expectations.

"To me, it was more of creating an environment to challenge [Williams] more than it was to -- I don't know another word -- but kind of baby him along," general manager Ryan Poles told ESPN. "I think there's a space for building someone's confidence, but I think you have to be demanding and challenging of the expectations of what you're looking for. I think guys respond to that really well, and I think he needs that and desires that."

Johnson and Williams won't embark on any on-field work until Phase 3 of the offseason program begins May 12 but will start laying the foundation of a new offense in meetings throughout early April.

Johnson did not detail at the NFL's annual meeting any wholesale changes he expects to make to Williams' skill set. The Bears aren't asking the 23-year-old to change which foot he drops back with or change fundamental elements of his game.

"I don't know if there's any undoing, but there are some things that we're going to encourage that he looks to do a little bit differently," Johnson said. "He's been predominantly a shotgun quarterback for most of his high school and college career, and so he's very comfortable there. We're going to work to see the comfort level under center and how much of that applies. We had a lot of success [in Detroit] that going under center for the run game did translate in play-action."

During Johnson's three seasons as the Lions' offensive coordinator, Detroit called the highest percentage of plays with the quarterback under center (49.9%) and saw that number spike last season at 56.2%, which was the highest under center rate for any team since 2020, according to ESPN Research. Detroit's offense was also one of the most successful in the NFL under those circumstances.

Detroit ranked first in yards per play (6.3) and second in EPA per play (0.12) while the offense was under center from 2022 to 2024. Quarterback Jared Goff saw his QBR jump from 63 to 73, his completion percentage increase from 67% to 72%, his yards per attempt increase by 2.1 and his sack percentage decrease by 2% while under center. Goff threw fewer interceptions (nine) and saw his EPA per dropback increase from 0.14 to 0.28, which ranked fourth in the league.

Williams had seven career pass attempts under center in college. His six at USC were inside the opponent's 3-yard line, while his one attempt at Oklahoma was a fourth-and-2 from the opponent's 22-yard line, a spot where the Sooners were trying to get a short gain to pick up a first down or touchdown.

As a rookie, Williams had only 84 dropbacks under center compared to 575 in the shotgun. His QBR was significantly higher out of the shotgun (52 compared to 25 under center), but he averaged more yards per attempt while under center (due to his receivers generating more yards after the catch) and saw his sack percentage decrease by 2.1%.

"He's done it," Johnson said. "It's just the comfort level. It's time on task. It's, how many reps can we get under his belt where he feels better and better about taking drops under center? I'm more prone to the play-action game underneath because I do think the longer action, the longer fake, does tend to hold the second level for a little bit longer. That's where you get your chunks, your shots, behind them.

"There is merit for looking to develop that part of his game. The truth is, even if we do invest and we decide that's not the direction we want to go too far in, it's still really worthwhile for him to have that time on. Because it's going to translate to the shotgun as well."

Williams going under center more could allow for the Bears to run more play-action, which Johnson's offenses experienced success with. The Lions were first in play-action rate last season (36.1%) while the Bears ranked 30th (18.5%).

Like he did prior to his rookie season, Williams has spent the offseason working with his private quarterbacks coach, Will Hewlett, on taking snaps under center and his footwork on play-action dropbacks.

Beyond using the offseason months to work on his mechanics, Johnson's plan for Williams will consist of hitting the metrics that determine quarterback success. The Bears' coach pointed to EPA per play as a statistic he values more heavily than turnovers or takeaways at determining how well a quarterback and the passing offense performs. A QB's completion percentage is critical to achieving that, and finding ways to increase Williams' 62.5% completion percentage (31st among qualified QBs) will begin next week.

So will "limiting" the number of coaches who are directly communicating to Williams, according to Johnson, and finding new ways to challenge and hold the young quarterback accountable.

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints have about $28 million available this year as they move on from free agency to the draft.

Exactly what the Saints will do with that money is a mystery as the draft begins on April 24. New Orleans has nine total picks, starting with the No. 9 pick.

The Saints freed up over $60 million in cap space in March through a series of releases, restructures and pay cuts, allowing them to sign new free agents like safety Justin Reid, retain players like defensive end Chase Young and tight end Juwan Johnson and even bring back former wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

"We nailed it when we were able to get Justin," Saints coach Kellen Moore said at the annual league meetings last week. "Obviously, you recognize there was a lot of other teams chasing after him and so we feel really, really excited that ultimately he made the decision he wanted to come back to Louisiana."

They also made some under-the-radar moves, such as signing former Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Dillon Radunz to a one-year deal worth $2.25 million, filling the space left by left guard Lucas Patrick, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on a $1.3 million deal.

Moore said that Radunz, who can play multiple positions, could compete for the starting left guard spot.

"Coming off a season where I started at guard, so guard would be where I feel most comfortable at, right over left. I played left side in college, played right side all last year," Radunz said. "Comfortable there, but ultimately at the end of the day, it's whatever gets me on the field quickest. ... Obviously I think [left] is where there's an open competition right now, so that's what we're going to gun for."

The Saints could go in almost any direction in the draft, although the biggest question will be whether they target a quarterback in the first round or beyond. New Orleans restructured quarterback Derek Carr's contract, effectively keeping him on the team through this season.

But the team has also shown interest in quarterbacks throughout the draft process, attending Miami quarterback Cam Ward's Pro Day. Ward, ranked as the best quarterback prospect in the 2025 draft, is expected to be the No. 1 pick.

"The quarterback position obviously is a valuable position in our league. We all know that, so I'm a quarterback guy. I do like seeing quarterbacks," Moore said.

Whether the Saints choose to go the quarterback route, they also have some more immediate needs, including cornerback, due to the departures of Paulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore.

New Orleans attempted to fill that position by targeting cornerback Charvarius Ward in free agency, but he signed with the Indianapolis Colts on a three-year deal averaging $18 million a year. Reid's three-year deal with the Saints averages $10.5 million each year.

"Free agency has a lot of conversations in a very short period of time and there's a lot of overlap and so we felt like both of those players would've helped our team and we had the flexibility to handle that however we needed to," Moore said when asked if they could have signed both Reid and Ward.

The Saints re-signed CB Isaac Yiadom instead for an average of $3 million a year.

Wide receiver also could be a priority despite the signing of Cooks, especially if the Saints look to add a bigger-bodied type to complement their current room.

"Anybody in a perfect world wants to have a basketball team with some tall, some short, some quick, some big. We're flexible," Moore said. "Certainly the people part of it is really, really valuable to us and we feel like we brought in an excellent player and person in Brandin."

Although Moore jokingly acknowledged the Saints' tendency to trade up in the draft, if they were to keep every pick, it would take about $5.4 million in cap space to sign their drafted rookies. That's due to the rule of 51, which means that only the top 51 contracts count against the salary cap in the offseason.

The Saints will spend more money in the fall to sign a practice squad and add players to the roster as injured replacements, but unless they make a big offseason move, it's likely they'll roll over a significant amount of money into the 2026 salary cap. New Orleans has carried over more than $5 million in space just once since the 2012 season.

So what could they do with their remaining space?

While the Saints will likely wish to roll over a lot of their space to 2026 to address those issues, they could still attempt to sign some free agents following the draft to fill any remaining holes this year. Some recent players signed in May who played significant roles include Patrick and safety Will Harris (2024), tight end Foster Moreau (2023) and wide receiver Jarvis Landry and safety Tyrann Mathieu (2022).

According to ESPN's best remaining free agents list, cornerback Rasul Douglas, wide receiver Amari Cooper, cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., cornerback Mike Hilton, running back J.K. Dobbins, wide receiver Keenan Allen, guard Brandon Scherff, wide receiver Diontae Johnson, wide receiver Tyler Lockett and guard Will Hernandez are among the top 20 free agents remaining at potential positions of need.

However, the Saints will have to think with at least one eye on the future when determining their next moves. They already have more than $350 million in projected salary cap liabilities in 2026 when taking into account several factors. That includes the cost of their 2025 draft class and the potential of a $15 million fifth-year option for wide receiver Chris Olave.

There's also the potential for a significant amount of dead money in 2026: almost $12 million if Ryan Ramczyk retires after June 1 and up to $68 million total if the contracts of six players automatically void, including defensive end Cameron Jordan, Mathieu, tight end Taysom Hill and linebacker Demario Davis.

Carr also has a $69.2 million cap hit in the final season of his contract that will have to be addressed. If New Orleans were to release him next season, he would either count $59.6 million against the 2026 cap as a standard release or $19.2 million in 2026 as a post-June 1 release.

Moore said he and Carr were excited to team up together, even though sources told ESPN last month that Carr was open to testing the market before his restructure.

"I'm excited to have him back with us really shortly. Obviously April 14 we'll start and I think that's the fun part," Moore said. "These guys go through the offseason. They have a chance to spend time with their family, invest in all that, which is the right thing to do, and once you get back April 14, ... football's in the fold and it'll be a great process."