The Bears are continuing to build a foundation for the 2026 season this week via their first three OTA practices Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

"We're off to a really good start," said coach Ben Johnson. "Has a lot to do with how we go about our business, particularly now that we're on the grass together as a full 90-man roster, coaches and players together on this thing."

Johnson is instructing and reinforcing "what we want our body language to be like, what we want our finish to be like, the communication, our daily habits, the discipline [and] the consistency with which we want to approach each and every day."

"[Wednesday] was a great start for us," he added. "Here's what I know about our group right now: We've got a bunch of really hard workers. I couldn't be more impressed with the past five, five-and-a-half weeks and how they're approached their business."

With Johnson entering his second season as Bears coach, the entire operation appears much smoother than when new schemes were being installed a year ago.

"It's everything; it's the entire team," Johnson said. "Everyone knows what the expectations are in the building, what meetings look like. It's noticeable to me, just one day of OTAs, the guys that were here last year versus the new guys to the program. They know what it's supposed to look like, and that's a good thing. We can kind of hit the ground running a little bit.

"From an offensive perspective, you certainly see a lot of guys picking up where they left off, and I know our quarterback room is at a different place than it was a year ago. Our route runners certainly feel that way, from how we do routes on air to what it looks like in a team setting. O-line, those coaches do a phenomenal job with those guys. Same thing there. You see that guys aren't thinking as much. They're now being able to play faster."

That continuity was evident in Thursday's practice, with quarterback Caleb Williams making quick decisions and pinpoint throws. In the final 7-on-7 drill, he lofted a beautiful fade pass down the left sideline to rookie receiver Zavion Thomas, rifled the ball into a tight window to receiver Rome Odunze and hit running back D'Andre Swift streaking down the right sideline on a wheel route.

Unlike last summer when the Bears struggled at times breaking the huddle and lining up correctly, the pre-snap operation also has been mostly clean this year.

"The communication in the huddle, what it looks like to break the huddle, the urgency to the line of scrimmage, the tempo that we want to stress the defense with, the quarterback plays a huge part in that," Johnson said. "He orchestrates the whole operation, and those guys have taken that to heart, and so from that aspect, I feel really good about where we're at.

"Now it's the next level of each concept: what are we trying to do, and potentially expanding on, 'Hey, here's your progression: 1-2-3,' to 'how can we accelerate our eyes, our vision? What are we looking for?' Some coverage indicators to where we might take more alerts, things of that nature. A little bit more minutia with it, but those guys have been really receptive to it."

Johnson has stated throughout the offseason that a main goal will be to increase Williams' completion percentage of 58.1 last season.

"Completion percentage is something that we're going to emphasize, and so what did they get when they came into the offensive meeting today?" Johnson said. "They got the chart of what was our completion percentage [Wednesday], who had drops, what did our scramble drill looked like, when those naturally occurred.

"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."

Dynamic duo

The Bears return the NFL's most productive backfield tandem in Swift (1,087 yards in 2025) and second-year pro Kyle Monangai (783 yards). Last year they were the only teammates in the league to both rush for at least 750 yards. The only other time two Bears accomplished that feat was in 1978 with Hall of Famer Walter Payton (1,395) and fullback Roland Harper (992).

"There's no drop-off at all," Swift said. "He's able to do everything. I'm able to do everything. It's tough on defenses when I make something happen, his number gets called, he makes something happen, like what are you going to do? Especially with the O-line we have and how those guys are coached and the way Ben's system is, it's a lot for a defense to account for four quarters."

Swift and Monangai help each other with constant communication.

"We always talk," Swift said. "Anything he sees or I see, we always go to each other. I asked him today on a little route I had, 'Did you see that? Was there something inside of me? Was there something outside of me?' We just talk ball."