INDIANAPOLIS – Preparing to head home from the NFL Combine, here are eight things I learned about the Bears at this year's annual gathering in Indianapolis:
(1) General manager Ryan Poles can't wait to watch new coach Ben Johnson work with quarterback Caleb Williams when the offseason program begins in April.
"I think [Johnson] wants to start from the foundation and build up from there," Poles said. "There are some things in the development in a young quarterback you've got to have, and I know that he's going to hit that first and really help him be the best professional football player he can possibly be.
"I love the excitement from both Ben and from Caleb. I know [Williams] is eager to get started and work with Ben and get his career going in Year 2."
Williams showed promise last year after being selected by the Bears with the No. 1 pick in the draft, but the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner still has room to improve.
In 2024, he set Bears rookie records with 351 completions, 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns. Williams became the franchise's first quarterback to start every game in a season since Jay Cutler in 2009 and produced a streak of 353 straight pass attempts without an interception that is the fourth longest in NFL history.
(2) Johnson did not speak to Williams at last year's combine, but it's not because the Lions offense that Johnson coordinated already had a quarterback in Jared Goff.
The Bears' first-year coach told me that he did not attend the 2024 combine because he had jury duty.
(3) Like the rest of the roster, Johnson wants the offensive line to be a physical group.
"We talk about finishing in a dominant position," Johnson said. "We want to be around the football. The best football players, they finish around the ball. So, that's what you're going to see from the five guys that we roll into. And it's not just going to be five. The last few years, it ends up being six, seven, eight, nine guys end up playing a significant number of snaps. So, we've got to find those five best guys, but we also have to get a good bullpen, if you will, ready to go in on a moment's notice."
(4) Johnson is confident that the Bears will be able to upgrade their offensive line in free agency and the draft.
"There are a number of teams that did that last year," he said. "The Panthers come to mind; when they went out in free agency and got a couple of top guards (Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis), [it] really changed the dynamic of their offense. You saw them clicking there in the second half of the season once they really started to gel.
"I made the statement in my opening press conference, that's an area we have to get better. That doesn't necessary mean we need five new starters because all it takes is one individual to blow up a play. So we're just identifying where we can get a little bit better and we're going to continue to raise that floor and we'll find the right mix of five to eight, nine, 10 guys."
(5) Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen are on the same page when it comes to priorities on defense.
"Talking to 'DA' has been very enlightening because we share the same mindset when it comes to defensive football, which is we want to affect the passer," Johnson said. "There are a lot of ways to do that. Certainly, up front the pass rush is the primary thing you think of, but on the back end, it's challenging the receivers and disrupting the timing.
"So when we look at guys that are available, absolutely we want to upgrade the pass rush and we also want on the backend to come up and lock down receivers as well. It's the fine balance and marriage between the rush and coverage that we are looking to augment."
(6) Poles is in the process of determining whether it makes more sense to address the defensive line in free agency or the draft.
"We're still kind of learning about that right now," he said early this week. "We'll have more clarity when we get out of the combine and get to know some of these players even more. Our coaches have dug into free agency a lot since they've gotten on board, but we have a lot more work to do on the draft when we get back, so I've got to see how we get aligned on that too."
Poles' philosophy of how best to rush the passer remains unchanged.
"You really need someone to really puncture the pocket from the interior for the exterior to be successful and productive as well," he said. "It's that balance of the two."
(7) Poles is evaluating defensive ends in free agency and the draft who could line up opposite veteran Montez Sweat.
"That's a part of what we're doing now," Poles said. "It's a big puzzle. Free agency comes first. There's a lot of unknowns in the draft in terms of who's going to be there for you. You can have philosophical beliefs in how you build a football team, how you prioritize, but the supply has to match the needs, and those opportunities have to present themselves at the right time.
"We're starting to put that puzzle piece together. But what I like really about the pairing so far of free agency and the draft is I do believe that the supply of players is matching our needs, so there are going to be good opportunities."
(8) Poles believes that the Bears will improve their running game this offseason.
"We're going to take a look at what's available to us," he said. "I really believe it lines up with the additions we're going to have over these next two player acquisition periods of free agency and the draft, we'll be in a position to have a strong run game, to stay balanced, which, in turn helps the quarterback out."
In his first season with the Bears in 2024, running back D'Andre Swift compiled a career-high 1,345 yards from scrimmage, rushing for 959 yards and six touchdowns and catching 42 passes for 386 yards.
In Swift's first three NFL seasons with the Lions, Johnson served as Detroit's tight ends coach (2020-21), pass game coordinator (2021) and offensive coordinator (2022).
"I was with 'Swifty' when we first drafted him in Detroit a number of years ago, and I followed his career even after he left Detroit and think very highly of him," Johnson said. "He's an explosive athlete. There's a number of things that he can do both in the running game and in the passing game. I do think he can help ignite an offense because he's got that playmaking ability, so it'll be fun to start to work together again here this springtime with him."
