Which players was Ben Johnson referring to?
The Chicago Bears have largely been applauded for their moves in the NFL Draft. Their grades have been solid from the draft experts, and they added plenty of pieces on offense around Caleb Williams and sprinkled a few pieces around the defense as well.
But Ben Johnson’s comments after the Draft are what caught my eye:
“I think all we did this weekend is we might’ve just turned up the notch a couple of dials for certain people in this building. That’s a good thing. That’s a healthy thing. That’s where you bring out the best not only in your team but in each individual.”
Every good football team needs depth on the roster. It builds competition and creates a winning environment. Johnson didn’t say he turned up the dials a couple of notches in the building, he said it was for “certain people.”
Maybe you think I’m reading too much into that, but when you suggest that you are turning it up on certain people, you are suggesting that these people need some extra push or motivation. Let’s look at the picks and determine who Ben Johnson might have been referring to.
1. Cole Kmet
It’s not too hard to start with Kmet. The Bears selected tight end Colston Loveland with their first-round selection. Kmet and Loveland can exist on the same field in 12 personnel, but if the head coach wants to turn it up on certain people, then we certainly can’t ignore the first pick of Ben Johnson’s tenure.
Kmet has always been a pro with the media, but he’s also been a leader in the locker room and was a captain in 2024. We know how poor the Bears’ effort was on the back half of the season. Of course, coaches are to be blamed, but shouldn’t some blame fall on the players as well? They’re adults, they should be able to be self-motivated. But when the locker room is having issues, you have to look at the captains, and Kmet was one of them.
I think Kmet will respond and the Bears will have an elite 12 personnel package, but Kmet’s long-term viability on the roster has to be put in question with Loveland here.
2. DJ Moore
I suggested on Twitter yesterday that the Luther Burden pick may be here because DJ Moore may not be a lock to be a long-term piece on this roster, and you would have thought I insulted everyone’s mother.
I think of all the players that had issues last year, Moore is at or near the top of the list. Moore was seen not giving full effort on plays, was visibly frustrated frequently, and even walked off the field midplay and was sitting on the bench before the play had even concluded (Moore stated after the game it was because he turned his ankle).
Burden and Moore have very similar playing styles. You’ll see that multiple draft experts even comped Burden to Moore. In the short term, Burden gives the Bears a player who can eat up YAC and can be explosive with the football in his hands, but long-term, you have to wonder if Johnson and Ryan Poles specifically went after Burden as a wake-up call to Moore.
3. Braxton Jones
Poles mentioned earlier in the offseason that he wanted to bring in some competition for Jones this season, and he did that with second-round pick Ozzie Trapilo. Trapilo was dubbed the most “pro-ready” prospect of any offensive linemen by respected offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn, unlike last year’s selection of Kiran Amegadjie, who was more of a long-term project and wasn’t expected to push Jones right away.
Jones may very well beat up the rookie for the starting left tackle job, but the Bears are going to be open to this competition and will give Trapilo a chance to win the job. Even if Jones holds onto his job, this certainly opens up the door for Jones to leave via free agency after this season, and the Bears can pivot to Trapilo and have a cost-controlled tackle for three years.
4. Zacch Pickens
Pickens is on his last legs here. The acquisition of Grady Jarrett certainly didn’t help Pickens’ opportunities in the defensive line rotation, and the selection of Shemar Turner in the draft certainly may push Pickens completely out the door.
I don’t think this selection is too much about Gervon Dexter. Yes, Turner can take some snaps away from Dexter if he plays well as a rookie, but Dennis Allen wants his defensive line to come at you in waves, he doesn’t want a few players taking 85% of the defensive line snaps, he wants that number far lower and for his players to stay fresh.
I think the Bears will keep their interior defensive line fresh and coming at offensive lines in waves with Andrew Billings, Jarrett, Dexter, and Turner. Even Dayo Odeyingbo can take some interior snaps. But if Zacch Pickens doesn’t take several huge strides forward during training camp, he’s going to end up on the team’s practice squad or off of it altogether.
5. Roschon Johnson
If Ben Johnson wants to try and recreate his thunder and lightning running approach that he had in Detroit with David Montgomery (thunder) and Jahmyr Gibbs (lightning), with his current roster, he’s going to have to settle for D’Andre Swift as his lightning. I use the term settle because, based on what happened in Detroit, it’s pretty easy to conclude that Johnson wasn’t the biggest fan of Swift.
But for the thunder aspect, that job was going to have to be on the shoulders of Roschon Johnson, until the Bears drafted Rutgers’ running back Kyle Monangai. Monangai runs with power and is the type of guy where you just feel, even in limited opportunities, he would have one or two runs end up on Kyle Brandt’s Angry Runs segment on NFL Network.
If Ben Johnson wants the thunder and lightning approach this year, Johnson and Monangai are going to be pushing each other for snaps, and it’ll be interesting to see who wins out in September.
6. Caleb Williams
There may not have been a direct draft pick to push Caleb Williams, but what Johnson and Poles have done is give Williams zero excuses.
For Chicago Bears quarterback standards, Williams had a great rookie season. For NFL standards, he was good but not spectacular. Williams didn’t turn the ball over much, which was excellent, but he took way too many sacks and left a lot of yards on the field.
Williams’ volume stats look pretty good, but when you look at his advanced analytics, his numbers are in the bottom third of the league.
Williams had a bad offensive line, no help from his offensive coordinator, a disaster of a coaching staff, and players who were actively quitting around him. When you consider all that, you could almost tip your cap to Williams, but regardless, the results weren’t good enough.
The Bears have beefed up the offensive line in front of him, added two more weapons to give him an outstanding pass catcher group of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Cole Kmet, and Colston Loveland. And, of course, we can’t forget that Ben Johnson is now the offensive guru to get him there.
Caleb Williams has no excuses. He is in a position to take off and become one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. So while certain draft picks may have created some competition at positions, make no mistake about it, the player that Ben Johnson has turned up the dial a couple of notches the most is Caleb Williams.