For someone who stresses this Bears offense will be different then the one he built in Detroit, coach Ben Johnson sure does like to talk about the way they put together the Lions attack.
Who can blame him?
Johnson talked at the NFL owner meetings Tuesday about the roles within his offense and how they came about in Detroit. As a result, it might be possible to piece together how or who the Bears might need in the coming NFL draft, or how current players are going to need to morph.
The running backs and receivers in Detroit were unique as the "Sonic" and "Knuckles" complements, with former Bears running back David Montgomery joining the team and then Jahmyr Gibbs being drafted.
The Bears have former Lions back D'Andre Swift, but he's not an exact fit for either the role of Gibbs and especially Montgomery. He's speedy but not as fast as Gibbs. He doesn't run with power like Montgomery.
"Not necessarily 1A and 1B but more, they could co-exist and really complement each others’ skill set," was the way Johnson described his Detroit backs.
The Bears have been looking at some speed back/receiver options in the draft, and have SMU's Brashard Smith coming to Halas Hall for a 30 visit. He's both an excellent pass catcher as a former receiver, and a back capable of breaking off long runs with sub-4.4 speed in the 40. Those are just visits by prospects and not necessarily players they will draft.
"And to me, that's how you want to construct a roster from all your skill positions is you don't want five 6-(foot-)4 guys necessarily in the receiver room," Johnson said. "You want more of a basketball team where you've got the point guard, you've got the power forward.
"You have a wealth of different skill sets that you can look to call upon wherever you're at on the field or whatever situation arises."
This idea explains, in part, the Bears' apparent interest in Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. He has a different skill set than Cole Kmet and could be a complement more than someone who takes away Kmet's reps.
The Lions lined up in the third-most 12-personnel packages in the league last year, anyway, and that means two tight ends.
Another curiosity is how they're going to use the wide receivers.
In Detroit, Amon-Ra St. Brown was the slot receiver and the main target. As Johnson himself noted at the start of the owners meetings, the ball in his offense always seemed to find its way to the middle of the field and the slot position especially.
"It's just naturally, whether it was Jarvis Landry or Danny Amendola or St. Brown the last three years there at Detroit, those guys were really the focal point of the passing game where I've been in the past," Johnson said.
The slot position was just filled by the Bears with Olamide Zaccheaus, but their main wide receiver targets figure to be outside receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. They're obviously not going to turn Zaccheaus into their chief threat after he has averaged 25 catches a year.
"Can DJ play inside? I think he can," Johnson said. "Can Rome play inside? I think he can. Both those guys showed those traits last year on tape.
"To what degree, I don't know yet. We've got to hit the grass and see what they’re really capable of and what they do well but I feel really good about the two guys we brought in in free agency and what they bring to the table."
The other guy is Devin Duvernay, the return man who averaged 30 catches over his first three seasons before injuries and a team change derailed his offensive output.
It's going to be a case of fitting the square pegs into the round holes and vice versa for Johnson, unless the draft brings him pieces more ideally suited to his past attack, or the players already in tow have other skills they have yet to show.
