Ben Johnson Wants Bears Receivers to Help Fix Caleb Williams' Accuracy

Ben Johnson says Caleb Williams' completion percentage is a team priority at OTAs, with ball placement, drops and scramble drills under review every day.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams rolls out to pass during a game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears started their OTA's on Thursday, and head coach Ben Johnson had plenty to say to the media after practice. He delivered some serious hype for Luther Burden III going into his second season, and he also explained how he plans on getting Caleb Williams' completion percentage up to an acceptable level in 2026.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson addresses the media at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Completion percentage is a team stat and takes a team effort

According to a post on X from Bears reporter Adam Jahns, Ben Johnson told the media that Caleb Williams' completion percentage will be a point of emphasis this year. "Completion percentage is something that we're going to emphasize," Johnson said. "We want to give these pass catchers, we have so many talented ones, opportunities to run after the catch, and so we're being very critical on where we're putting that football with them, and that's something that we grade every day."

The effect of Caleb Williams' breakout season in 2025 was somewhat blunted due to his unacceptably low completion percentage. He completed just 58.1% of his passes for 3,942 yards, leaving him agonizingly short of Bears history in the process. But completion percentage isn't just a quarterback stat. It also reflects the state of the pass catchers.

For example, the Bears dropped 29 passes last year according to Pro Football Reference, good for third-most in the league. That's an area that must be cleaned up this offseason, and Ben Johnson understands that."[The offense] got the chart of what was our completion percentage yesterday," Johnson said, "who had drops, what did our scramble drill look like, when those naturally occurred."

Clearly, Ben Johson expects Williams to throw more catchable passes (he led the NFL in bad throws last year according to Pro Football Reference), but he also expects his pass catchers to help the quarterback by reducing those drops and getting open on scramble drills. If both the quarterback and his pass catchers can meet in the middle on these two stats, the sky's the limit for this offense.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams should be much better in his second year with Ben Johnson

At the end of the day, Williams' completion percentage is not nearly as damning as it appears at first glance. In addition to the aforementioned dropped passes, Williams also led the league in throwaways, getting rid of the ball safely to avoid either a sack or interception, with 40. If you deduct those throwaways from his passing stats, Williams' completion percentage goes up to a much more respectable 62.5%. Not great, but not awful. If you want more context around Williams' accuracy last year, ESPN's Ben Solak posted a great breakdown to his X account.

Remember, 2025 was Williams' first year with Ben Johnson. He had to unlearn everything from his disastrous rookie season, change up the way he was used to playing quarterack, and digest a notoriously complex playbook and scheme. That version of Caleb Williams is likely to be the worst we'll ever see him in a Ben Johnson offense, and he still led one of the league's best offenses. People expect big things from the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams duo in Year 2, and I fully expect them to deliver.

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