Caleb Williams DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is taking part in voluntary organized team activities this week, but he was intercepted twice in a rough day for the offense at practice on Wednesday. Williams had a minor surgery in the offseason to remove a cyst from his right wrist, but he's back on the practice field and shouldn't have any issues being ready for his second NFL campaign. The 23-year-old former first overall pick out of USC was a disappointment in his first year in the NFL and took a league-high 68 sacks in 17 starts. It didn't help that Chicago fired head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron midway through the season. Williams finished with 3,541 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. While Williams is by no means on the QB1 radar in fantasy, he should be able to improve in Year 2 under new head coach Ben Johnson in an offense with plenty of playmakers.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams' left foot is now forward under new head coach Ben Johnson. "I think it helps out certainly with the quick game from the gun, and then helps us being a little bit better at a throwing posture for a lot of the other things that we're asking him to do," Johnson said. The new head coach said that Williams was already exploring the change himself when he initially discussed the footwork with Williams. The minor change probably won't have much of an impact one way or another as the 23-year-old second-year signal-caller looks to bounce back from a disappointing rookie season, but it's a reminder that Chicago's new head coach is doing everything he can to get more out of Williams in 2025. Getting the ball out quicker -- Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times -- is of utmost importance. He should be more efficient under Johnson and should be targeted as a QB2 with upside.

According to details from a forthcoming book reveal, quarterback Caleb Williams and his family consulted with lawyers to find potential ways around being drafted first overall by the Chicago Bears in 2024. "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Carl Williams, Caleb's father, told Seth Wickersham, author of "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," in the months before the 2024 draft. Caleb Williams ultimately decided he could make it work in Chicago before struggling to a QB16 finish in a rookie season that saw Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron both fired. The 23-year-old threw for 20 touchdowns and six interceptions while taking a league-high 68 sacks. The good news is that the Bears did everything they could to give Williams help heading into his sophomore season, so the former first overall pick is set up to succeed in Year 2.

Chicago Bears new head coach Ben Johnson said the team plans to go "back to the basics" with quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second year as a pro after a disappointing rookie campaign after he was the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft. "It's the fundamentals of the quarterback position: What's our footwork going to look like under center? From the shotgun? What are we calling the formations? What's the defensive identification going to look like? So that we're all speaking the same language," Johnson said. The 23-year-old will take more snaps under center during offseason workouts to gauge his comfort level. Chicago ran 70.8% of their plays from shotgun in 2024 (tied for 16th-most), but the Lions lined up in shotgun less than any other team under Johnson. Williams took a league-high 68 sacks last year, so using more play-action should help better protect him. On paper, the addition of Johnson should be excellent news for Williams' development.

The Athletic's Dan Pompei believes that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson will likely empower quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second year in the NFL after an up-and-down rookie campaign. Johnson gave QB Jared Goff authority with protection adjustments that not all signal-callers have while serving as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, in addition to eliminating plays that Goff didn't like. Johnson was also a big proponent of going for it on fourth down, so the Bears offense should be much more aggressive under Williams in 2025. It's the main reason why Johnson was Chicago's top pick to be their next head coach. Despite plenty of weapons on offense in 2024, Williams was one of the worst downfield passers in his rookie season and had a 62.5% completion percentage to finish as the QB16 in fantasy. The addition of Johnson will surely make Williams a popular breakout candidate in 2025.