When Week 1 of the regular season rolls around and the Chicago Bears take to the field, all eyes will be on quarterback Caleb Williams. However, it’s hard to see Williams reaching his natural ceiling if he has to be another year on his back.
As a rookie, Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times. While some of that was his fault, offensive line was a clear area of improvement for Chicago. And the Bears hit the ground running, trading for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney and then signing Drew Dalman to a $42 million contract.
After spending his entire career thus far with the Atlanta Falcons, Dalman is preparing for an entirely new challenge with the Bears. Alongside succeeding in all of his duties, Dalman understands that his performance will directly affect Williams’ supposed year two breakthrough, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
“I think the biggest things are your focus can only be on so many things at once, and there are things that his focus needs to be on and they can’t be on anybody else’s plate, and there are things that can be handled by other people,” Dalman said. “So things like the snap count, protection or the run game, the less he has to worry about it and the more we as an O-line can communicate together and diagnose together, the less he has to do it and the more he can focus on the things that are exclusive to him, and so I think that process played out a little bit with Mike and then I imagine it will carry over the same.”
What Drew Dalman brings to Chicago Bears
Chicago wasted little time when the legal tampering window opened to bring in Dalman. It was clear he was considered a big fish by Bears decision makers. If he continues his performance over from 2024, the Bears will certainly be pleased with their decision.
An ankle injury held Dalman to just nine games in his final year with the Falcons. However, when he was on the gridiron, the center earned a 78.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking fourth/64 centers. While his pass blocking could use some work, Dalman excelled in the run game, as his 79.8 grade ranked fifth/64 centers.
The Bears will certainly take the boost to their rushing attack. Chicago finished 2024 ranked eighth in rushing offense, averaging 102 yards per game.
But when it comes to Williams, Dalman knows he must step up. From the snap to the ball being released, center and quarterback must have strong communication. Signed to a three-year deal, Dalman will be the Bears center for the foreseeable future. But he’s hopeful him and Williams are cooking with gas far before contract talks come up again.
Caleb Williams prepares for year two
As a rookie, Williams completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. While he had better passing numbers than any year of Justin Fields as a starter, the quarterback struggled to truly find his No. 1 overall pick ceiling.
The problem was two-faced between player and organization. Williams cannot hold the ball as long as he did. Ultimately, the NFL is about quick decision makers and finding the best reads. As he prepares for his sophomore season, having more intent behind his decisions would do well for Williams.
However, he can’t do it alone, and the quarterback was hung up to dry as a rookie. The aforementioned offensive line problems only made matters worse. But Williams had to go through numerous different play callers. There was no semblance of a foundation set for Williams in year one.
But now the Chicago Bears have head coach Ben Johnson. His offensive schemes should provide some creativity while also creating a backbone of success. He has already maxed out the offensive line with players such as Dalman. The roster is far from complete, but it has a much more intriguing shine on it until 2024.
It’ll be up to Williams to put the pieces together and prove he’s a franchise quarterback. But his new offensive linemen are ready to do everything in their power to help carry the load.
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