Ben Johnson's head coaching debut was worth the wait.
After lingering as one of the NFL's hottest rising stars as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, he waited for the right offer to make the leap to top dog. Chicago presented an intriguing opportunity. The Bears offered a former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback, young skill players and a cornerstone right tackle. It only took one year for Johnson to turn Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Darnell Wright and more into NFC North champions.
That offense should fly once more. The defense raises a few more questions. How did the Bears get here, and what comes next?
Key addition: S Coby Bryant and S Dillon Thieneman
Ben Johnson's offense should continue to soar. His defense will rely heavily on a rebuilt secondary. Flipping Jaquan Brisker and Kevin
Byard into a reigning Super Bowl champion and a first round pick is a viable strategy.
Bryant allowed just a 51.9 passer rating in coverage as a free safety for the Seahawks last season. He'll miss the start of the season due to injury, but should be a significant boost upon his return. Thieneman is a jack of all trades who thrived at both Purdue and, upon realizing he was still at Purdue, Oregon. His preseason performance portents potential Pro... uh, Bowl possibilities. Dang. So close to alliteration gold.
Key departure: EDGE Dominique Robinson
The Chicago secondary is replacing three players who played at least 97 percent of its snaps as well as C.J. Gardner-Johnson. But while Robinson isn't a big loss on his own, he represents a missed opportunity to improve a position of need. The Bears' 31.6 percent pressure rate ranked 27th in the NFL last season. The team's 35 sacks were a bottom-10 number.
Robinson wouldn't have changed that, but the fact remains there isn't a new arrival who can be counted on to patch up a potentially fatal flaw. Chicago will rely on Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett to have bigger impacts in their second seasons with the team and Austin Booker and Shemar Turner to make leaps in their third and second NFL seasons, respectively.
Potential 2026 breakout player: WR Luther Burden III
This won't be a surprising pick to anyone who's done their fantasy research. Ben Johnson was the offensive coordinator that helped push Amon-Ra St. Brown to greatness as a wideout equally comfortable split wide or in the slot. Burden had about a 60-40 split wide vs. slot as a rookie and, like St. Brown, showed off prodigious run-after-catch ability — his 43 yards after catch over expected (YACOE) were a top-five mark among players with 60 targets or fewer.
He has the opportunity to claim a starring role in a passing offense without D.J. Moore, and his 78.3 percent catch rate and above average advanced stats suggest his solid first-year campaign is scalable.
Position ranks
- QB rank (expected points added per dropback, via RBSDM.com): 20
- WR corps rank: 9
- RB corps rank: 5
- TE corps rank: 3
Will they improve in 2026?
No. There are too many question marks on the defensive side of the ball to say this team will be better as a whole. Still, Chicago can absolutely win the NFC North again.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bears 2026 season preview: Will iffy D be the anchor that keeps Chicago from sailing?
