Quarterback

Two years ago, the Bears got the #1 pick, coming off of a 3-14 season and were faced with a choice. The Bears could have used the #1 pick on a new quarterback, which would have meant trading away Justin Fields, who they had traded a pair of first round picks to select 11th overall just two years prior and who didn’t seem like he had gotten a fair shot with a good roster yet, or they could have traded away the #1 pick for a huge return. The Bears opted for the latter, getting back a package that included a pair of first round picks, a pair of second round picks, and talented wide receiver DJ Moore from the Carolina Panthers, who then used the pick to select Bryce Young.

A year after that trade, going into the 2024 off-season, the Bears seemed like they had obviously made the correct choice. Justin Fields didn’t pan out, leading to the Bears still only going 7-10 in 2023, and Fields was eventually traded to the Steelers for a conditional late round pick, but Bryce Young fared even worse in his first season in Carolina, leading to the Panthers finishing just 2-15, the worst record in the league, which meant that the 2024 first round pick the Panthers gave the Bears in their trade the year before was #1 overall, giving the Bears the opportunity to select Caleb Williams, who looked like one of the best quarterback prospects of the last decade.

Williams also seemed to be stepping into a much better situation than most quarterbacks who are selected #1. The Bears’ record the previous year wasn’t good, but it was better than most teams who select #1 and, armed with multiple high draft picks from the Panthers and a significant amount of cap space due to their cheap, young core, the Bears had been aggressive in both the 2023 and 2024 off-seasons building out the rest of this roster. If Caleb Williams could be as good as advertised, the Bears seemed to have a clear path to contending quickly and for years to come.

Instead, the Bears actually took a step back in 2024, finishing with a 5-12 record. There are numerous reasons for the Bears’ disappointing season, but quarterback Caleb Williams has to be at the top of the list. Williams’ overall numbers don’t look that bad, as he completed 62.5% of his passes for an average of 6.30 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions (87.8 QB rating), while rushing for 6.04 YPC on 81 carries, but Williams also took 68 sacks on a team that had the most sacks allowed in the league. 

Normally, a lot of the blame for all of those sacks would fall on the offensive line, but the Bears’ offensive line actually ranked 9th in pass blocking grade on PFF. The bigger problem was Williams held the ball for too long and showed a lack of pocket presence. Williams had the 6th highest time in the pocket in the NFL at 3.04 seconds, but only ranked 18th in quarterback pressure rate at 35.3, so even though he held the ball for a long time, he wasn’t pressured at a high rate. He ranked 3rd in the NFL in sack rate on pressured snaps at 27.8% and led the NFL with 17 unnecessary sacks taken. Overall, despite decent passing numbers, Williams received just a 67.6 PFF grade, good for 32nd among 44 eligible quarterbacks. Making matters worse, Bryce Young made significant strides in his second season in Carolina, while the other quarterback who would have been in consideration for the #1 pick in 2023, CJ Stroud, led the Texans to their second straight division title and won a playoff game for the second season in a row.

Of course, it’s tough to know how much of Williams’ struggles last season was his fault or the fault of poor coaching. Going into last season, the Bears’ coaching staff seemed like their biggest weakness and it proved to be a big downfall. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired mid-season and replaced with Thomas Brown. A few weeks after that, head coach Matt Eberflus was fired and Brown became interim head coach, in addition to their offensive coordinator and play caller, a massive responsibility for a coach who entered last season as a passing game coordinator with just one year of previous offensive coordinator experience.

Fortunately, the Bears made a big splash this off-season, hiring former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach. Not only was Johnson the most sought after head coaching candidate of the last couple head coaching cycles, but he is also a very quarterback friendly head coach who has the potential to do great things for Williams’ development. Johnson isn’t guaranteed success, like many great coordinators before him who have failed as first time head coaches, and Williams needs to put in the work to develop as well, but I don’t think Williams could have asked for a better coaching staff situation going into a pivotal second season in the league and there is a great chance that he and this Bears offense take a huge step forward this season, after ranking 32nd in yards per play and 31st in first down rate last season.

Williams will be backed up by either Tyson Bagent, a 2023 undrafted free agent who has been their backup for the past two seasons, or Case Keenum, a journeyman veteran they signed this off-season to compete with Bagent for the backup role. Both look like underwhelming options. Bagent has exceeded expectations by being a backup in his first two years in the league after going undrafted, but he looked like one of the worst backup options in the league when on the field, completing 66.2% of his passes for an average of 6.00 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions (71.9 QB rating), which is why they brought in Keenum to potentially give them an alternative this off-season.

Keenum has had some great years as a backup and even as a starter in the NFL, making 66 starts in 13 seasons in the league and posting a 84.6 QB rating, but his QB rating is just 57.6 over the past three seasons and now he heads into his age 37 season, so he looks like he’s at the end of the line. If Bagent can hold off Keenum for the backup job, that will say negative more about Keenum than it will positive about Bagent and the same is true if Keenum comes in and takes the job. The Bears will obviously need Williams to stay healthy again all season, given the state of their backup quarterback situation, but if Williams does stay healthy again, he and this offense have enormous potential, given Williams’ talent and the new coaching staff he has.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

The Bears’ offensive line wasn’t really the problem last season, but they did overhaul this group. The results of that overhaul could be a mixed bag, but one move that almost definitely helps this offense is signing center Drew Dalman, one of the best centers in the league, to replace Coleman Shelton, who was decent but unspectacular last season with a 66.4 PFF grade in 17 starts. Dalman has finished with PFF grades of 65.9, 82.3, and 78.8 over the past three seasons and is still very much in his prime, going into his age 27 season. He’s only a decent pass protector, but he is an incredible run blocker who should give the Bears’ ground game a big boost this season.

The Bears also made changes at both guard spots. They didn’t have bad guard play last season, as Teven Jenkins and Matt Pryor had PFF grades of 75.4 and 69.9 in 14 starts and 15 starts respectively as the primary starters, but the Bears didn’t necessarily downgrade the position either. At left guard, Jenkins wasn’t retained as a free agent because he has consistently had durability issues and he was replaced via trade for Joe Thuney who is highly accomplished, finishing above 70 on PFF in eight straight seasons, including a 79.9 PFF grade in 2024, and also highly durable, missing just two starts in nine seasons in the league. The one problem with Thuney is he is now heading into his age 33 season. However, he hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet and unless he declines significantly this season, he should remain an above average starter.

Pryor, meanwhile, will be replaced by Jonah Jackson, who also came over in a trade, reuniting with his former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Jackson spent his first four seasons in Detroit from 2020-2023, making 57 starts. After struggling as a rookie with a 57.0 PFF grade, he seemed to turn a corner in his second and third seasons in the league with PFF grades of 69.3 and 66.1, before regressing to 59.7 in his contract year. 

Jackson still got a 3-year, 51 million dollar deal from the Rams last off-season, but he lasted two games at guard before getting hurt, then moved to center upon his return, struggled mightily in one start out of position, and then played well back at guard in a meaningless week 18 game, finishing the 2024 season with a 67.5 PFF grade over across just 266 snaps. Now going into 2025, it’s tough to know what to make of Jackson, now two years removed from his last full season as a starter in which he was above average, but he’s still theoretically in his prime in his age 28 season and should have bounce back potential, even if that’s far from a guarantee.

At tackle, the Bears return the same starters as a year ago. Right tackle Darnell Wright was probably their best offensive lineman last season. Selected 10th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft after their trade down with the Panthers, Wright had a decent 62.4 PFF grade in 17 starts as a rookie before breaking out with a 79.3 PFF grade in 16 starts in 2024. Wright is technically a one-year wonder and could regress somewhat in 2025, but he also has a massive ceiling and, still only going into his age 24 season, his best years could still be ahead of him. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he took another step forward in 2025.

Left tackle Braxton Jones played pretty well, with a 77.4 PFF grade. He was only a 5th round pick in 2022, but has proven to be a steal, with PFF grades of 75.4 and 68.8 in his first two seasons in the league before continuing to play well last season. The one concern with him is he has missed 11 games over the past two seasons, but I wouldn’t necessarily call him an injury prone player. The Bears also added extra insurance this off-season with second round pick Ozzy Trapilo, who could potentially be viewed as the long-term starter if Jones isn’t retained as a free agent next off-season.

The Bears also used a high draft pick on a potential long-term starter at tackle in last year’s draft, taking Kiran Amegadjie in the third round. Amegadjie struggled as a rookie with a 40.3 PFF grade across 126 snaps and his long-term outlook doesn’t look as good as it did a year ago, which is probably why Trapilo was added as well, but he could still develop into a long-term starter. With Trapilo being drafted, the Bears may view Amegadjie as a guard long-term more than a tackle. If he sees action as an injury replacement in 2025, it is more likely to be inside than outside. The Bears likely have above average starters at least four of five offensive line spots, with right guard being the exception, and some recent high draft picks as reserves, so this offensive line looks like it should be a strength this season.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

The Bears’ running game was also underwhelming last season, ranking just 4.02 in YPC at 27th, even with Caleb Williams having success on the ground. Lead back D’Andre Swift averaged just 3.80 YPC across 253 carries. Their running game should get a boost from Drew Dalman being added on the offensive line, but many expected the Bears to use a high draft pick to address their running back group, potentially even moving up in the first round to take Ashton Jeanty, the top running back prospect in the draft class, because Ben Johnson’s offense relied heavily on the running game in Detroit, led by a talented duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

The Bears couldn’t get Jeanty, but they did have opportunities to upgrade their backfield and opted not to, only using a 7th round pick on Kyle Monangai, an effective collegiate back who probably lacks the athleticism to be effective at the NFL level. That leaves Swift as the clear lead back again. A second round pick in 2020, Swift averaged 4.62 YPC in his first three seasons in the league, but was limited to 364 carries in 40 games due to injuries. In 2023, Swift was traded to Philadelphia and had 229 carries in 16 games, taking them for 1,049 yards and 5 touchdowns (4.58 YPC), giving him an impressive 4.60 YPC over 593 carries in his four seasons in the league, but only 2.53 of that came after contact, benefitting significantly from great blocking both in Detroit and Philadelphia. 

In his first season in Chicago, that average after contact was similar at 2.46, but he had far less room to work with. Swift should benefit from the Bears’ run blocking and offense in general being better in 2025, but he’s an underwhelming lead back in general who is reliant on talent around him. He is at least a capable pass catcher though, finishing last season with a 42/386/0 slash line and 1.09 yards per route run, which are actually down from his career averages of a 55/419/2 slash line per 17 games and 1.27 yards per route run. 

Roschon Johnson will also likely remain the #2 back. His yards per carry average was even worse than Swift’s at 2.73 on 55 carries, but that was because he was almost exclusively used as a short yardage option and he actually had success in that role, with a 56.4% carry success rate. He also rushed for 6 touchdowns, the same amount as Swift, despite a much smaller carry total. Johnson also had a decent 4.35 yards per carry average on 81 carries as a 4th round rookie in 2023 when he was used in an expanded role.

Without a significant addition being made to this backfield this off-season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Johnson get a bigger role beyond just short yardage and cut into D’Andre Swift’s carry total this season. Johnson also showed himself to be a decent pass catcher as a rookie with a 1.10 yards per route run average, though that did fall to 0.76 in 2024. Overall, the Bears have an underwhelming backfield, but they should benefit from better run blocking on the offensive line and likely a better offense around them in general.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

The Bears didn’t use any high draft picks on their backfield, but they did add to their receiving corps, adding tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick and using one of their two second round picks on wide receiver Luther Burden. They are the latest in a long line of pass catchers the Bears have recently used significant assets on. DJ Moore was acquired in the trade with Carolina where they gave away the first overall pick and the Bears reportedly asked for Moore in lieu of adding another first round pick in the deal. Between that and the 4-year, 110 million dollar deal they gave him last off-season, the Bears have a lot of resources committed to Moore, but he is worth it.

Moore led the team with a 98/966/6 slash line last season and that actually constituted a down year for him. His receiving yardage was the third lowest of his 7-year career, while his 1.44 yards per route run average was the worst in his career. He exceeded 1,100 receiving yards in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023, with a yards per route run average over two yards per route run in 2019, 2020, and 2023, and he posted career highs across the board with a 96/1364/8 slash line and 2.31 yards per route run in 2023. In total, he has averaged 1.91 yards per route run in his career, while averaging a 83/1123/5 slash line per 17 games and missing just two games total. Still very much in his prime in his age 28 season, the former first round pick will almost definitely bounce back with a new coaching staff and likely better quarterback play in 2025.

Rome Odunze, the 9th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will be the #2 receiver. He had a disappointing season last year as well, managing just a 54/734/3 slash line on 1.18 yards per route run, but he also could be a lot better in 2025, as he still has a lot of talent. With Moore and Odunze likely locked into their roles, that leaves Burden to compete with veteran free agent addition Olamide Zaccheus for the #3 receiver job. Burden had first round talent and could prove to be a steal, while Zaccheus had a solid 45/506/3 slash line and 1.69 yards per route run average last season in a part-time role with the Commanders. 

Zaccheus only has averaged 1.28 yards per route run in his career and had a career best year in his sixth season in the league last season, so Burden should beat him out, but both could have roles. It wouldn’t be hard for either to be an upgrade on the departed Keenan Allen, who commanded 121 targets last season but was very inefficient on them, finishing with just a 70/744/7 slash line. His vacated targets will likely be split amongst Burden, Zaccheus, and Loveland, with Odunze also likely seeing a larger target share.

Loveland will likely be the starting tight end, but the Bears still have Cole Kmet, an experienced tight end on a 4-year, 50 million dollar deal, so he should still have a role and will probably prevent Loveland from having a big target share as a rookie. A 2nd round pick in 2020, Kmet had a career year in 2023 with a 73/719/6 slash line and 1.69 yards per route run, but like most of this offense he had a disappointing 2024 and fell to a 47/474/4 slash line and 0.91 yards per route run, marking the lowest yards per route run average of his career and the lowest receiving total since his rookie season. 

Only going into his age 26 season, Kmet had obvious bounce back potential in 2025 before Loveland was drafted and he should still see a significant increase in efficiency this season, but his overall playing time and production upside are going to be significantly reduced by the addition of Loveland. He’s as good as any #2 tight end in the league though and should still have somewhat of a role. Overall, this looks like a deep and talented receiving corps.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

It wasn’t just the Bears’ offense that was disappointing in 2024, as the defense underperformed expectations as well. In 2023, the Bears finished the season ranked 18th in yards per play allowed and 10th in first down rate allowed and were even better down the stretch after adding Montez Sweat in a deadline trade, but in 2024 they fell to 30th yards in per play allowed and 19th in first down rate allowed. Montez Sweat himself was a disappointment as well. 

After finishing the 2023 season with 12.5 sacks, 13 hits, and a 12.4% pressure rate, including 6 sacks, 8 hits, and a 13.3% pressure rate in 9 games with the Bears, Sweat had just 5.5 sacks, 6 hits, and a 13.6% pressure rate in 16 games in 2024, while falling to a 65.6 PFF grade across 616 snaps, the lowest PFF grade since his rookie season in 2019. Sweat is still relatively young, going into his age 29 season, and had PFF grades of 79.7, 75.6, 86.4, and 74.8 in his four previous seasons prior to last season, so he has a good chance to bounce in 2025.

Sweat bouncing back is much needed because the rest of this position group has a lot of problems. DeMarcus Walker was underwhelming with a 64.7 PFF grade across 738 snaps last season and wasn’t retained this off-season, but his replacement Dayo Odeyingbo is not really an upgrade, despite being added on a 3-year, 48 million dollar deal. Odeyingbo was a second round pick in 2021, but has not lived up to the billing, finishing with PFF grades of 61.4, 62.6, 56.9, and 66.1 across an average of 515 snaps per season, while totaling 16.5 sacks, 31 hits, and a 8.7% pressure rate in 61 games. 

Last season was the best of Odeyingbo’s career, as his career high PFF grade came across a career high 746 snaps and he’s still only going into his age 26 season, so he may have further untapped potential, but the Bears are betting on his potential more than anything and could easily disappoint and be an overpay. Making matters even worse, the Bears desperately lack depth behind Sweat and Odeyingbo. Darrell Taylor (374 snaps), Austin Booker (283 snaps), and Jacob Martin (222 snaps) were the Bears’ top reserves last season. Martin and Taylor had pressure rates of 13.5% and 13.8% in limited roles, but neither was retained this off-season, leaving only Booker, who had a 6.5% pressure rate. 

Booker is a 2024 5th round pick and could be better in his second season in the league, but that is not a guarantee and he’ll almost definitely be counted on for a big role, as the Bears didn’t add any other reserve options this off-season, leaving Daniel Hardy, a 2022 7th round pick who has played just 72 career snaps, and Dominique Robinson, a 2022 5th round pick with a career 4.8% pressure rate, as their other best reserve options. Even if Sweat bounces back and Odeyingbo continues developing, both of which are not guaranteed, this position group will still have significant concerns.

Grade: B-

Interior Defenders

The Bears did at least make significant additions at the interior defender position this off-season, signing Grady Jarrett to a 3-year, 42.75 million dollar deal and using a second round pick on Shemar Turner. Both have some upside, but both also have significant downside, for opposite reasons. While Turner is a rookie, and a particularly raw one at that, Jarrett is going into his age 32 season and his 11th season in the league. Jarrett already had a down year last season, falling to a 62.1 PFF grade across 744 snaps, after exceeding 70 on PFF in each of his previous seven seasons, and he could easily decline further again in 2025. Even if he doesn’t, it’s very likely his best days are behind him at this stage of his career.

Even with Jarrett and Turner being added, Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings will still have significant roles as well. Dexter, a 2023 2nd round pick, had a mini breakout season last year with a 70.3 PFF grade across 616 snaps, after receiving a 50.9 PFF grade across 433 snaps as a rookie. Dexter played well both against the run and as a pass rusher, with 5 sacks, 15 hits, and a 11.0% pressure rate. He’s technically a one-year wonder and could regress somewhat in 2025, but he also could have permanently turned a corner and he could even develop further and have an even better season, still only in his age 24 season.

Andrew Billings wasn’t quite as good, but he still had a decent 62.5 PFF grade, his 5th straight healthy season above 60 on PFF, with his career best PFF grade of 76.4 coming in 2022 on 478 snaps. He did miss nine games due to injury and was limited to 297 snaps as a result, which is somewhat of a concern, as he also missed all but 72 snaps between 2020 and 2021 due to injury. Billings is also going into his age 30 season, so his age is becoming a concern as well. He could be a solid rotational player who stays healthy, but there is some concern that won’t happen.

Chris Williams (367 snaps), Byron Cowart (335 snaps), and Zacch Pickens (228 snaps) all saw somewhat significant snaps for the Bears at the interior defender position last season and all struggled with PFF grades of 45.5, 58.9, and 45.5 respectively. However, Cowart is no longer on the team and, with Jarrett and Turner being added, Pickens and Williams will play deep reserve roles this season at most, if they even make the final roster. 

Pickens at least may have some untapped upside, as he was a 3rd round pick in 2023, but he has shown nothing across 492 career snaps to suggest he was deserving of that pick, while Williams is a 2020 undrafted free agent who had only played 107 career snaps prior to last season and who is highly unlikely to ever develop into even a decent rotational player. The Bears’ interior defender position group is much better for Jarrett and Turner being added and Pickens and Williams not needing to play significant roles this season as a result, but this is still only a solid position group.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Bears made a big investment in their linebacking corps two off-seasons ago when they added Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards on deals worth 72 million over 4 years and 19.5 million over 3 years respectively. Edmunds was the higher paid of the two by far, but Edwards has been the better player, earning an extension worth 20 million over 2 years this off-season. Edwards finished with a 79.6 PFF grade across 1,042 snaps in his first season in Chicago, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, as he had PFF grades of 76.3 and 84.8 across snap counts of 684 and 1,040 respectively in his final two seasons in Philadelphia before signing with the Bears in free agency. 

Edwards had a down year last year with only a 60.7 PFF grade across 1,054 snaps though, part of why the Bears’ defense disappointed, but he is still only going into his age 29 season and could easily bounce back in a big way in 2025. Edmunds, meanwhile, has had PFF grades of 56.6 and 59.2 over the past two seasons respectively, across snap counts of 876 and 1,055. He did have a 79.0 PFF grade across 760 snaps in his final season in Buffalo in 2022, but that was by far the best season of his 7-year career and has proven to be a fluke. He’s still only in his age 27 season and could bounce back a little bit in 2025, but it’s unlikely he will ever live up to his 2022 season and the big contract the Bears gave him as a result of that season.

The Bears used a 4th round pick in this year’s draft on Ruben Hyppolite and he could replace Edmunds as the starter if they decide to move on from him after the guaranteed money on his contract is finished next off-season, but in the meantime he will replace former backup Jack Sanborn, who had a decent 63.1 PFF grade across 235 snaps last season, before signing with the Cowboys this off-season. Other reserve options include Noah Sewell, who has flashed some potential in two seasons in the league since being a 2023 5th round pick, albeit on just 32 snaps, and Amen Ogbongbemiga, a career special teamer and former undrafted free agent who has played just 146 career snaps in four seasons in the league. It won’t take much for Hyppolite to be the top reserve even as a rookie in an overall solid, but unspectacular position group.

Grade: B

Secondary

The strength of the Bears’ defense last season was their secondary, particularly their cornerback group, which was led by Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who finished 10th and 12th respectively among cornerbacks with PFF grades of 76.2 and 76.0 respectively. For Johnson, this type of performance was expected and, in fact, it actually was a significant decline from 2023, when he led all cornerbacks with a 90.1 PFF grade, though that was the only season of his 5-year career in which he had played at that level, so that is likely somewhat of a fluke. Still, Johnson is one of the most talented cornerbacks in the league and is very much in his prime in his age 26 season, so I would expect him to continue playing at a high level, even if he doesn’t reach his 2023 peak again. 

For Gordon, his performance last season was somewhat of a surprise. The 2022 2nd round pick has always had the upside, but he had PFF grades of 49.8 and 65.6 in his first two seasons in the league, so 2024 was a significant improvement for him. It’s possible he’s permanently turned a corner and will continue playing at that level or better, now going into his age 26 season, but he could also regress a little bit. He’s also only a slot cornerback, which limited him to 48.3 snaps per game last season, but, at his best, he’s one of the best pure slot cornerbacks in the league.

With Gordon playing in the slot, Tyrique Stevenson was the primary outside cornerback opposite Johnson last season, but he struggled with a 58.9 PFF grade across 810 snaps. Stevenson is a 2023 2nd round pick who has upside, but between last season and a 60.2 PFF grade across 830 snaps as a rookie, he hasn’t shown that upside yet. Stevenson also started ceding snaps down the stretch last season to Terrell Smith, who outplayed him significantly with a 78.5 PFF grade, albeit on just 207 snaps. Smith was just a 5th round pick in 2023, but he also showed potential with a 69.6 PFF grade across 377 snaps as a rookie and could ultimately be a better long-term option than Stevenson. Stevenson is probably the favorite for the #2 cornerback job in 2025, but he could be on a short leash and, at the very least, Smith is a good #4 cornerback option.

At safety, the Bears were led by Kevin Byard, who had a 72.8 PFF grade while making all 17 starts. That is nothing new for Byard, who has finished above 70 on PFF in seven of the past eight seasons, including three seasons over 80, while making all but 1 start during that time period. Byard is now heading into his age 32 season and could start declining soon, but he hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet, he has been remarkably durable throughout his career, and even if he does decline, he should remain a solid starter at the very least.

JaQuan Brisker began last season as the other starting safety and played decently with a 65.3 PFF grade across 5 starts, but then he suffered a season ending injury. Fortunately, the Bears actually didn’t experience any drop off without him, even though two different players made starts in his absence, with his original replacement Elijah Hicks also suffering a season ending injury after 356 snaps in 8 games and being replaced by Jonathan Owens, who played 429 snaps. In Brisker’s absence, Hicks and Owens received PFF grades of 71.8 and 66.5 respectively, so they were actually slight upgrades.

Brisker returns to the starting lineup in 2025 and will hopefully be healthier. The 2022 2nd round pick has played similarly to last season throughout his 3-year career, with PFF grades of 67.0 and 66.7 in 2022 and 2023, across 30 total starts. He’s still pretty young, going into his age 26 season, and could still have further untapped potential, but even if he doesn’t, he should remain a capable starter. He will continue being backed up by Hicks and Owens. 

Owens had a 61.9 PFF grade across 774 snaps in 2023 with the Packers, though he also struggled with a 48.3 PFF grade across 970 snaps in 2022 with the Texans and he now heads into his age 30 season, but he’s still a good reserve option. Meanwhile, Hicks is a 2022 7th round pick who struggled with a 46.2 PFF grade across the first significant action of his career in 2023, when he played 487 snaps, but he isn’t a bad reserve option either. This looks likely to remain an above average secondary again in 2025.

Grade: B+

Kickers

Cairo Santos was an above average kicker last season, accumulating 2.84 points above average. That actually was a down year for him, as he has totaled 19.46 points above average over the past five seasons combined, good for 5th most among kickers during that span. Santos is going into his age 34 season in 2025, and last year could have been the beginning of a decline, but kickers can remain effective into their mid-30s, so there is a good chance he remains an above average kicker this season.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The Bears disappointed last year, drastically underperforming their talent level, in large part due to their poor coaching staff. Going into 2025, that coaching staff seems likely to be significantly improved, led by new Head Coach Ben Johnson, a highly accomplished coordinator and one of the most sought after head coaching hires of the past few off-seasons, as well as new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, whose past success as a coordinator has earned him two head coaching opportunities in his career. However, Johnson is still a first time head coach who isn’t guaranteed to be a success, the Bears were statistically even worse than their record last season, and they have one of the toughest schedules in the league, so it seems unlikely they will be a playoff team.

Prediction: 4-13, 4th in NFC North