Caleb Williams put up 59 points in his one full game this season, looking like an evolved version of his 2025 self, but the Chicago Bears’ young pass-catchers are still not consistently getting it done through five weeks. After fantasy draft season, five Bears players were in the top 70 overall, and so far, only D’Andre Swift drafters are remotely happy, with Swift still hitting RB12 in points per game after being drafted as RB19.
The Caleb Williams Rollercoaster Has the Offense Searching
That Week 1 opener with Williams was straight fire. The guy played like the kind of quarterback his haters say he can’t be in the NFL. He didn’t put the ball in harm’s way, kept the offense on schedule, and when those shot plays weren’t there, he calmly took checkdowns and layups. They scored 59 points! They were the best offense in the entire NFL in Week 1, with the fourth-best success rate on passing plays. But then Week 2 hit, and things fell apart against Brian Flores and the league’s top-ranked defense in a rainstorm. Williams got sidelined with a hamstring injury after playing 87% of the snaps, and that was it for a while.
What followed was the classic tale: backup quarterbacks came in, looked good in their first starts, but couldn’t keep that momentum going because they just can’t push the ball downfield. You see it clearly in the numbers. After finishing seventh in explosive play rate in 2025, they’re now 20th through five weeks. Yeah, the run game is still explosive, ranking eighth in explosive rushing rate, but that pass game is a huge anchor dragging everything down. From Weeks 3 to 5, their explosive play rate plummeted to 28th overall, even though they were first in time of possession per drive. Ben Johnson’s offense is all about explosive plays, not just holding onto the ball. That’s the biggest issue, and it’s screaming for Williams’ arm to open things up again.
Who’s Catching the Ball and Is Anyone Stepping Up?
Even when Williams is healthy, this isn’t an offense concentrated on just one or two guys. They’re one of 10 teams with five or more players owning at least a 10% target share. Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze, who should be the top dogs, combine for a 39.5% target share, which is the 12th-lowest for a top duo across the entire league. It’s a puzzle why these young studs haven’t consistently made a difference.
And let’s talk about tight end Colston Loveland. Drafted 38th overall, he’s arguably the worst pick on the board through five weeks. Nobody expected Kalif Raymond to complicate things this much, finishing the first five weeks with a 16.7% target share and 14.5% air yard share, both good for third on the team. He’s been siphoning off those easy layup targets from the supposed top three guys. His designed plays were effective in Weeks 1 to 3, but he’s gone nowhere the last two games, with only 12 yards on six targets. Plus, his route participation has dipped below 60%, so it looks like his role might be shrinking.
Williams is back, and that uber-talented arm should solve most of the explosive play issues. But the real question is how much he’ll move the needle for each individual pass-catcher. Will Burden, Odunze, and Loveland finally live up to their draft hype, or will this continue to be a wide-open target tree with no clear go-to guys? The league is watching to see if this offense can finally consistently deliver on that Week 1 promise.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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