LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said we would “hear” the pads a little more on Tuesday.

He was right.

The Bears’ second padded practice of training camp featured some big hits. Safety Elijah Hicks and rookie defensive back Tysheem Johnson provided a couple over the middle of the field. Linebacker T.J. Edwards put a thud on running back Roschon Johnson for a tackle for loss on a swing pass. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings swallowed up running back D’Andre Swift.

Late in practice, a fourth set of 11-on-11 drills had something unfamiliar here: live tackling.

On the first set of downs, cornerback Nahshon Wright deflected a third-down pass intended for wide receiver Rome Odunze. Swift opened the next series with a 6-yard run before Billings’ TFL. Facing a third-and-7, quarterback Caleb Williams found rookie tight end Colston Loveland over the middle for a first down.

“An open-or-not type read, sit it down if you need to, if there’s space. That’s all it was,” Loveland said. “Caleb found me, did a good job finding me and we converted, which is always what you’re trying to do on third down.”

The two-minute drill, which had been successful for the Bears, flopped on Tuesday. Williams had to throw it away on first down when the blitz got to him. Pressure from defensive end Montez Sweat forced Williams outside the pocket and another incomplete pass on second down. He scrambled on third down, then connected with receiver Devin Duvernay short of the sticks on fourth down.

It’s a reminder that the defense has things it’s trying to show off, too.

“Another coach told me yesterday — he said, ‘You know, Dennis (Allen) has a little ego, too, now,’” Johnson said. “He didn’t come into camp looking to get steamrolled at all. He’s looking to make a name for the defense. He’s bringing it. He’s bringing it left and right. It’s a compliment when all those defenders talk about how complex it is. We see it on offense, too. It’s hard.

“We’re having a difficult time in protection right now. I think that’s probably what stands out to me from the first five practices. We need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket. We’re having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.”

The defensive performance is certainly part of the reason that the wait for Williams and the offense to pop off continues. Fair or not, we haven’t seen many highlight-reel plays, let alone enough first downs in team drills. There weren’t any turnovers Tuesday, and Williams had a pair of impressive, play-action throws to DJ Moore and Odunze, but there haven’t been many “wow” moments.

Getting creative with DJ

Moore has 57 career carries, including 14 last season. Oftentimes, those had been on jet sweeps. This week, we’ve seen Moore take some handoffs from the backfield.

It’s about getting the ball in his hands.

“We’re exploring some things,” Johnson said. “What I’ve seen on tape and what I’ve come to learn about DJ is he’s a physical, he’s a run-after-catch, just-get-me-the-ball type of guy. Whether that’s in the backfield, whether that’s screens, I think he had a nice ‘go’ route the other day, there’s a number of things we’re looking to do and explore.

“How do we get him the ball and get him in space? And so we were tinkering with that a little bit (Monday). You saw. He’s really receptive to it.”

Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze has impressed coach Ben Johnson in camp. (Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)Rome’s early impressions

Odunze has been the recipient of some of the offense’s best plays, whether it was the touchdown last week or the long gain Tuesday when Williams escaped pressure.

His skill set is going to give Johnson some flexibility because of the way Odunze can win one-on-one matchups.

“To me, he fits that prototypical ‘X’ receiver where you can line him up outside the numbers and, provided he gets a one-on-one with a corner, he’s going to win most of his matchups, slant routes, stop routes, go routes, the whole route tree outside the numbers,” Johnson said. “That’s what I’ve seen from him so far. He’s a really detailed route runner. He had a route (Monday) in one-on-ones that was really impressive. He’s looking one way, breaks the other way and really snaps it off for a sharp cut.

“When you have a long guy that can win contested catches and torque down the field and all that but yet can still drop his weight and get into and out of routes, that’s really a unique skill set that we’re going to look to capitalize on.”

Loveland doing it all

As the offense grows, so, too, will the connection between Williams and Loveland, and the rookie tight end has already looked the part. File that away as an example of optimism.

Johnson said Loveland’s instincts showed up right away, and he highlighted a block that showed the rookie’s potential.

“He had a particular block the other day where the defensive end looked to spin out of it and he was able to anticipate that and able to stay on top of it,” Johnson said. “Those are things that really stand out to the coaching staff that maybe if you’re just a regular bystander, you might not see, and it’s really encouraging when you look at a young player like that and the growth that he’s going to be able to have the more reps that he gets.”

The other part of that block? It’s a reminder that Loveland’s shoulder is just fine.

“Shoulder feels great, and that’s what we’re asked to do as tight ends, especially in this offense,” he said. “You’re not just gonna be a pass-catching tight end or a run-blocking tight end. You’re gonna be asked to do it all, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Roster report

• Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III made his debut in team drills on Tuesday. He caught a first-down pass from quarterback Tyson Bagent. Johnson also had to yank Burden from a drill, likely for not being in the right spot.

• Braxton Jones got the first reps as the starting left tackle, followed by Kiran Amegadjie and then rookie Ozzy Trapilo. In the two-minute drill, Amegadjie played left tackle with the first-team offense.

• Center Doug Kramer returned after missing Monday’s practice with a leg injury. Defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon participated after leaving Monday’s session on a cart.

• Guard Bill Murray was absent. He did get tape on his ankle during Monday’s practice. Rookies Zah Frazier and Shemar Turner remained out.

 (Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)