Caleb Williams entered last summer's training camp focused on the pre-snap operation, which included calling the play in the huddle, aligning teammates and making checks at the line.

Having mastered that vital aspect of the offense during a magical 2025 season, the Bears quarterback will concentrate in this year's camp on what transpires after the ball is in his hands. It's a natural progression as Williams begins his second season working with coach Ben Johnson.

"He's had two offseasons and one training camp so far and a full season to where he's had a lot of the similar concepts repeat for him," Johnson said. "Now we're at the point where he's not thinking about the play call, he's not thinking about the cadence, the motion and all the rigmarole before the snap.

"Things are starting to slow down. So, what we need to see here in camp is that anticipation. Take it up a notch. I think with that, the coverage recognition gets taken up another notch. There are other ways we're going to continue to challenge and push him, more of which are going to happen post-snap. Last year we talked about that pre-snap operation quite a bit. [We] feel a lot better about that this time of year than we did [last summer], so now we're just moving onto the next stage."

Williams flourished in his first season under Johnson and is eager to continue developing and growing in their second year together.

"Plays get more detailed," Williams said. "He's adding more on my plate of figuring out the coverage before and having an idea of where I can go with the ball faster and sooner. I haven't thrown a lot of picks in my career because I can see the coverage and feel the coverage. It's a little more detailed from play-to-play and specifics within the play towards the coverage that we are attacking. Then adding more plays in there so that we can kill, alert and check to these different man checks, cover two checks, one high or whatever the case may be.

"We are excited about that. I'm excited. The challenge that he's giving me to be able to take the next step and progress is what I'm most excited about. It's going to be hard. It's going to be tough like it is every year. That's what you embrace, that's what you enjoy. Because when it shows up on game days and Sundays or whatever day we play on, it's really rewarding."

Williams revealed last year that Johnson yelled at him so much when they first started working together, he thought his coach didn't like him. The blunt approach is the same this year, but the third-year quarterback no longer takes it personally.

"I know we have a real common goal and it's to find a way to make the Chicago Bears champions," Williams said. "So, everything he says to me, I'll do it at 200% and won't look back. That's kind of how it is now. If he yells and curses at me or anything like that, I know it's for the greater good of the team."

Williams eventually learned that lesson last season when he set a franchise single-season passing record with 3,942 yards and led the Bears to the NFC North title. He thrived in crunch time, helping the Bears rally to win seven games they trailed in the final 2:00. The former USC standout also drew comparisons to famous escape artist Harry Houdini for the ability to elude pass rushers and extend plays.

Williams will likely have even more mobility this season after losing 10-15 pounds. He told reporters Wednesday that he dropped the weight by improving his eating and sleeping habits, including not consuming any food after 7 p.m.

"I'm excited about that to be able to move a little bit better, be smoother," he said.

Johnson knows that elusiveness is only one of Williams' special traits and the coach is excited to help the quarterback to perform even better in 2026.

"I mean, he's got it all," Johnson said. "There's really nothing I don't think that he can't do. It's just the elite arm talent, playmaking ability, escapability. He has legs that he can hurt a defense with. There's just so many layers to who he is as a player. I think that word 'consistency' comes up over the course of a 60-minute game or more if we need it to where we're playing high-level quarterback play throughout that game. You see flashes of it and yet we're trying to tap into that where we're just consistently delivering the ball where it needs to go, giving it to our guys around us and then we all know that he has that ability to put on that Superman cape when the time calls for it."