UFL Trick Play is Perfect Design for Bears' Ben Johnson and Colston Loveland

When the Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson as their next head coach, many fans and analysts were excited to see what kind of trick play concepts he would bring over from Detroit. He did not disappoint, calling a flea-flicker in Week 3 that became one of the coolest highlights of the Bears' 2025 season as Luther Burden III scored his first NFL touchdown. However, Johnson seemed to leave a lot of meat on the bone when it came to trick plays for most of the season.

Now, with a full offseason ahead of him and not having to worry about installing an entirely new offense, the hope is that Ben Johnson will have more time to scheme up more trick plays that get the Bears into the endzone at just the right moment. And if Johnson is watching any UFL football, he may have just been handed the perfect concept in Saturday's game of the D.C. Defenders versus the Houston Gamblers.

Before the game became a 45-7 blowout, the Defenders rolled out an intriguing trick play, which is actually based on a rather old-fashioned fullback draw concept. The quarterback, Jordan Ta'amu, took the snap from under center with tight end Briley Moore lined up as the fullback behind him, and Abram Smith in at running back. The classic I-formation.

Ta'amu ran back and to the right, showing a rollout concept with Smith pretending to catch a pitch. Meanwhile, Ta'amu had already tucked the ball into Moore's arms from behind as he rolled out. The entire defense locked onto Ta'amu and Smith as they rolled out right, leaving a four-lane freeway ahead of Moore for a 24-yard touchdown run.

BRILEY MOORE TOUCHDOWN 🍻

WHAT. A. PLAY. ‼️👏 pic.twitter.com/Mf7RXI7FvH
— DC Defenders (@UFLDefenders) April 11, 2026

The fullback draw is tailor-made for Ben Johnson and Colston Loveland

As soon as I saw this play, I imagined Ben Johnson drawing up something similar with Colston Loveland lined up as the fullback. We already know that Johnson likes to utilize multiple tight end sets more than almost any other coach in the NFL, and he's lined up his tight ends as fullbacks before. Naturally, this would give Johnson the perfect cover to disguise a fullback draw with Loveland as the runner.

Most tight ends don't have the kind of speed or agility to pull off a play like this against NFL defenders, but Loveland isn't most tight ends. We're talking about a young player who already set an NFL record in the Bears' Divisional round loss to the Rams. A player who broke two tackles and sprinted away from smaller defensive backs on a 58-yard catch-and-run to beat the Bengals in Week 9.

Happy 22nd Birthday Colston Loveland!

Already one of the best young tight ends in the league after 1 year in the league🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SLEANpZAf3
— SleeperBears (@SleeperBears) April 9, 2026

The Bottom Line

Despite Loveland's slow start to his rookie campaign, he exploded over the second half of the season and carried that momentum over into the playoffs. He quickly became Caleb Williams' go-to guy, and one has to believe that Johnson and Williams are going to want to put the ball in Loveland's hands as much as possible in 2026.

That should include some trick plays, too. Loveland has shown that he's a good enough athlete to outrun most defenders while being strong enough to break tackles. That makes this concept we just saw in a UFL game the perfect play call for him. Imagine the crowd pop at Soldier Field if the fans watch this sleight of hand from Williams spring Loveland free for a touchdown run.

I would say I hope that Ben Johnson is taking notes, but I know he's already hard at work preparing his offense for 2026. Johnson is a tape-grinding, diabolical genius, and he has already said that he doesn't want to hear about the 2025 season anymore. You better believe that whatever he cooks up for next year is going to be impressive.

The fullback draw is tailor-made for Ben Johnson and Colston Loveland

The Bottom Line

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