There are big expectations surrounding Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in his second season. Especially after the franchise prioritized his development with their bevy of offseason moves.

The biggest was the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach, which gives Williams a bonafide offensive mind to help mold him. The Bears also overhauled the entire interior offensive line with the additions of center Drew Dalman and guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. They also added a pair of new weapons in tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III in the 2025 NFL draft.

Advertisement

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky expects a big jump from Williams as he gets a top offensive guru in Johnson, an improved offensive line and more weapons. In fact, Orlovsky believes that given the improvements Chicago made, Williams is under the most pressure in the league.

“I don’t think there’s a quarterback in the NFL under more pressure than Caleb Williams,” Orlovsky said. “The expectations are remarkably high. Ben Johnson, so imagine what Sean McVay was for Jared Goff when he went there, what Mike McDaniel was for Tua (Tagovailoa) when he went there. You could make the case that Caleb is more physically talented than those two guys.

“So this is an offensive line that’s going to be much improved, they’ve got guys to throw the football to by the dozens it feels like and a scheme that gets every quarterback to play well. Under Ben Johnson in Detroit, they scored 177 touchdowns and punted 154 times. So the expectations should be exponentially high, and Caleb has to meet them.”

The Bears have done everything they can to ensure Williams has a better season than his chaotic rookie year, where he went through two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, was sacked a league-high 68 times and lost 10 straight games.

Advertisement

Now, Williams is perfectly positioned to take a leap in his second season with Johnson calling the shots on offense and the roster overhaul around him.

Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears’ Caleb Williams dubbed QB under most pressure in 2025