Training camp isn’t even at the halfway point yet. Head coach Ben Johnson and his staff have plenty of decisions to sort through with the Chicago Bears before the opener against Minnesota. At the top of the list is determining how the starting offense will look. Some no-brainers are already locked in. Caleb Williams will be the quarterback. D’Andre Swift will be the primary running back. Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, and Darnell Wright are cemented on the offensive line. Where it gets interesting is the receiving corps.
Chicago spent lots of resources upgrading that part of the roster, headlined by 1st round pick Colston Loveland and 2nd round pick Luther Burden. Both have shined in early camp practices. In theory, that should make Johnson’s decision on likely starters more difficult. The head coach was asked about it following Sunday’s Family Fest at Soldier Field. Surprisingly, Johnson had an answer ready. From his perspective, he deems four names the most trustworthy at this point.
Ben Johnson exhibits a classic coaching mentality here.
History shows that head coaches often lean heavily on experience when making depth chart decisions. They prefer starting veterans over rookies because veterans often know what they’re doing and make fewer mistakes. There is no question that Loveland and Burden are the future of the Bears organization, but they have lots of ground to make up after missing most of the practices in May and June because of injury setbacks. The foursome of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and Olamide Zacchaeus is more than qualified to do the job until Ben Johnson believes they’re ready. This is where the team’s depth is such an asset. They can afford to bring the rookie along slowly, not throwing them onto the field too soon. It should help them develop faster.
