For the fourth straight day, the Bears conducted a non-contact practice that was open to the media Saturday at Halas Hall. Here's what transpired:

The bond that Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze developed as rookies last year is growing even stronger in their second training camp together.

That was evident Saturday when the two 2024 top-10 picks connected to cap a two-minute drill with a touchdown pass on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone.

"A year under our belt definitely helps us continue to build that [rapport]," Odunze said. "With the new offense, learning it together and having the knowledge of playing in the NFL last season and having those games, and then putting that into this offense and building the connection that way I think is great, too, and not just being like two rookies just kind of figuring it out."

Williams began the two-minute drive by completing passes to running back D'Andre Swift, receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and tight end Cole Kmet. From inside the 5, the second-year quarterback then lofted the ball into the end zone to Odunze.

"It was just an up-and-down play, kind of quick, 1-on-1 man [coverage] out there," Odunze said. "Caleb gave me a shot [and] I was able to execute. Obviously, [we have] to continue to build that and have that as a weapon in our offense, something that I did a lot in college (at Washington) as well. So [we're] just building that connection, which I think we'll show this year."

Odunze hauled in the fade pass despite being blanketed by 6-4 cornerback Nahshon Wright.

"There's a lot to it," Odunze said. "Just having the savviness because it's red zone, so you don't want to release too quick. You want to meet the ball exactly at the point where you want to catch it and have late hands with it. It's all of that."

Odunze indicated that it's also important to not give away the type of route he's running in order to keep the defender guessing.

"He has to protect the slant, he has to protect the fade, he has to protect maybe a screen pass or something like that," Odunze said. "He's worrying about different things and that's why it allows me to be in full attack mode and let him react and hopefully his reaction is a little bit slower."

Learning from everything

Speaking before practice, coach Ben Johnson told reporters that the Bears offense completed the fourth of 12 installs Friday and that he's not frustrated with the unit's performance in camp thus far.

"We're not frustrated at all," Johnson said. "We're right where we need to be. In fact, I told the unit [Friday] night, to see where they came from, the springtime, to where we've been for three days, we're not having to coach alignment, we're not having to coach finish, we're not having to coach the standard.

"Now we're coaching football. Now we're reading coverage and we're able to accumulate reps. The beautiful thing about it is our guys, they're learning. We're not making the same mistake twice. That goes for the guy that's getting the rep and that goes for the guys not getting the rep. They're learning from everything. We're not frustrated whatsoever."

Not much carryover

Johnson is confident that Williams will play faster once the second-year quarterback gains a firmer grasp of the new offense.

"There really isn't a ton of carryover from what he was asked to do with the play calls or anything of that nature [as a rookie]," Johnson said.

"He's always been very comfortable as a shotgun quarterback going back to college and even last year. He's very comfortable in a two-minute setting. He's very comfortable with tempo-type plays. Now we're asking him to be a little bit more structured in terms of the play calls. Sometimes there's multiple calls. There's shifts, there's motions, there's a lot more going on mentally than probably there's ever been for him.

"And so at some point, this thing will start slowing down and he's going to be able to catch up and his physical ability will take over from there. But right now, because mentally it is what it is, he's playing a little bit slower than what he's capable of."

Go big or go home

Johnson revealed that his aggressive mentality as a coach and play-caller stems from when he was between jobs in 2019 after being relieved of his duties by the Dolphins. He joined the Lions as a quality control coach later that year and eventually became their offensive coordinator in 2022.

"Probably a light came on for me when I got fired from Miami and I was out [of football] for however long that was, 6-7 months," Johnson said. "Fortunately, [I] got an opportunity there in Detroit to stay in the NFL and I think at that point it was, 'you know what, go big or go home.'"

Wanting to employ the same aggressive mentality on the other side of the ball, Johnson hired veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

"[We are] very similar," Johnson said. "His DNA, his thought process, is very much the same. We were just talking about it the other day in terms of starting practice early with that pressure period. That's a good way to wake our guys up.

"There will be some games where we want to go in, we want to do that, and we want to heat up and put some pressure on the opposing offense. But at the same time, we're also going to be very smart and calculated when that occurs. He's got a great feel for that. That's the best thing about him having all the experience that he has."

Ramping up

First-round pick Colston Loveland, a tight end from Michigan, participated in team drills for the first time. He had been doing only individual work after being cleared to practice following offseason shoulder surgery.

"He's awesome," Odunze said. "He's been great; great in the locker room, he's been great in the meeting room. Guy's on the field doing everything possible he can. He wanted to get back on the field and now that he's getting the good reps in, it's been awesome to see. Great hands, very agile, can block. He's got everything you desire in a tight end. So really looking forward to his development in the years ahead."

Notes to note

The No. 2 offense capped its two-minute drill with rookie Jonathan Kim's 44-yard field goal. It was set up by completions from quarterback Tyson Bagent to running back Roschon Johnson and receiver Maurice Alexander … Cairo Santos made a 55-yard field goal earlier in practice … Right tackle Darnell Wright was given a day off … In 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, passes were broken up by defensive backs Josh Blackwell, Elijah Hicks, Nick McCloud and Tyrique Stevenson … Running back Deion Hankins made a nice catch on a deep pass down the right sideline from quarterback Case Keenum … The Bears will be off Sunday before conducting their first padded practice Monday.