Caleb Williams

Williams took a league-high 68 sacks in 2024, and while improvements were made, ongoing offensive line questions persist for his durability and development trajectory.

Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman (27) retired unexpectedly and LT Ozzy Trapilo ruptured his patellar tendon in the postseason — the Bears lost two starting OL members in a single offseason. Garrett Bradbury is a stopgap at center and Logan Jones (R2 pick) is a developmental asset; Williams faces meaningfully degraded pocket protection in 2026.

The DJ Moore trade to Buffalo removes Williams' most experienced and reliable safety valve, freeing approximately 80 targets but concentrating dependency on a young room — Odunze is recovering from a 2025 stress fracture and Burden III is entering just his second season.

Williams posted a 58% completion rate in 2025, placing him in the bottom tier among top fantasy QBs despite QB5 PPR output. Ben Johnson explicitly named ball placement and route-catch fundamentals as 2026 priorities, signaling this remains a real ceiling constraint.

OC Declan Doyle departed for Baltimore (Ravens OC), with passing game coordinator Press Taylor promoted internally. Taylor has operated within Ben Johnson's system from the start, limiting schematic disruption, but Williams loses a playcaller he built one year of rapport with entering a critical Year 2.

Williams finished near the bottom of the league in completion percentage (58.1%) in 2025 despite a QB5 fantasy finish; Ben Johnson has publicly set a 70% completion target, and failure to improve ball placement caps his real-life and fantasy ceiling.

Williams' sack percentage dropped from 10.8% (68 sacks) in 2024 to 4.1% in 2025, marking the largest improvement by any QB since the 1970 merger. Improved protection and pocket management dramatically enhance development trajectory.

Ben Johnson won 11 games in Year 1, with Williams setting franchise passing record (3,942 yards, 27 TDs). Johnson stated 'I'm Caleb Williams' No. 1 believer,' providing elite coaching continuity and offensive scheme alignment.

Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Colston Loveland are all 24 or younger and entering Year 2+ together. Burden's second-half breakout (4.3 rec, 60.1 yds/game over final 8 games) signals a massive target funnel forming.

Colston Loveland (value: 5616) led Chicago in receiving yards (713) and tied for the team lead in TDs (6) in 2025, already emerging as Williams' alpha weapon. A young elite TE locked in as the primary target is one of the most durable QB-upside multipliers in dynasty — comparable to the Mahomes/Kelce dynamic at its formation.

Rome Odunze (value: 5026) is now the unambiguous WR1 with DJ Moore's 80-target void to fill, and is returning healthy from a 2025 stress fracture. If Odunze achieves his talent ceiling as a legitimate WR1-caliber threat downfield, Williams gains the outside weapon that was missing in his rookie year.

For the first time in his career Williams enters an offseason in the same system, with Ben Johnson and most of the offensive staff returning (OC Doyle left for Baltimore but Press Taylor was promoted internally) — historically a major catalyst for a Year 3 quarterback leap.