LAKE FOREST, Ill.—The Bears are among the NFL’s most interesting teams heading into the season, with a strong finish to last year to pair with a generational rookie talent at quarterback, generating plenty of optimism around one of pro football’s flagship franchises. What will that amount to? Here are my takeaways from Bears camp …
• Caleb Williams is off to a flying start as the Bears’ starting quarterback (with the expected rookie ups-and-downs mixed in), and a big part of it is the plan the team put in place to get him off the ground—using pre-draft Zooms and his top-30 visit to give him a foundation in learning terminology, cadences and formations. The Bears also spent a good amount of time learning how Williams learns, so they could tailor what they were doing to how he’d best absorb information. Williams took a big leap in executing a plan that the Bears set up for him to keep going with his personal coach Will Hewlitt over the 40 days between the end of the offseason program and camp. As a result, he and new OC Shane Waldron are in lockstep with the season looming. I’d be surprised if Williams doesn’t play well this year.
• A big part of that is what’s around him, which is a loaded group of skill guys. D’Andre Swift’s lost weight, down from 220 (where he was with Detroit) to about 205, and has looked lightning quick at the start of camp. From there, a big receiver group—with Keenan Allen at 230, D.J. Moore at 220 and Rome Odunze at 215—should be a handful in the open field, and Allen and Moore have been great for Odunze, who was very much a pro already despite coming in as a rookie. And then they have an in-line tight end in Cole Kmet, and a move (or “F”) tight end in Gerald Everett. There are some position battles here behind those guys (Roschon Johnson vs. Khalil Herbert to back up Swift; Velus Jones Jr., Tyler Scott, DeAndre Carter, Dante Pettis and Collin Johnson for receiver roles/roster spots). But if the front-line guys stay healthy, look out.
• The offensive line’s been built slow and steady over Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles’ four offseasons in charge, and now the biggest questions with the group revolve around depth. Ryan Bates has been a really solid addition, and is battling with ex-Ram Coleman Shelton to start at center. Both guys have position flexibility and should give the Bears some depth at the interior positions. Matt Pryor’s had a nice offseason, and the hope is he can provide a layer of depth at tackle and guard.
• The back seven of a defense that came together late last year should be solid. Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards are now entrenched as linebackers, and seeing those two (Edmunds in particular) in coverage has caused plenty of issues for the offense in camp. At safety, there’s a nice older–younger dynamic between Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, and depth at corner is the best it’s been under the current regime. With Jaylon Johnson (really the only piece on the defense held over from the previous regime) and Tyrique Stevenson outside, and Kyler Gordon inside, that’s another place where the foundation is strong.
• That brings us to perhaps the biggest swing factor in the Bears’ season, and that’s the defensive front. Montez Sweat gives them a star up front. DeMarcus Walker is steady on the opposite side. Dexter Gervon Sr., a massive second-year defensive tackle, really changed his body this offseason, and should be a disruptive force. But this is an area where there could be an addition—though there’s optimism that long, strong instinctive fourth-rounder Austin Booker will surprise some folks as a rookie. They did have Yannick Ngakoue last year, and if the price comes down a bit on him, he could help as a pass-rush specialist for a group that could use just a little more juice. My guess is that they’ll want to see young guys like Booker in a preseason game or two, at least, before moving on something like that.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears Training Camp Takeaways: Caleb Williams Is Off to a Hot Start.
