Admit it. When you heard the Chicago Bears signed Caleb Johnson out of Houston Baptist as an undrafted free agent, you didn’t even give it a second thought. Don’t feel bad. Nobody did. Why would you? The kid was a no-name player from a program that didn’t even exist before 2013. He was the first to ever even make an NFL camp. It was a cool story but not a single person thought he’d be able to crack the roster.
Then things started…happening. After a solid training camp, Johnson showed up in the preseason. He was around the football constantly, making nice tackles for loss and even showcasing some skill in coverage. When he added special teams prowess to the mix as well, that sealed it for the coaches. They decided to keep the rookie on the main roster despite five other inside linebackers already present. Then not long after Josh Woods, a mainstay reserve of the past few years was released.
Johnson wasn’t going anywhere.
That by itself would’ve made for an awesome story. Not only does a kid help put his college program on the map by getting a camp invite. He even manages to make the main roster. Yet that doesn’t seem to have been enough for Johnson. Not one to waste an opportunity, he is quickly morphing into somebody with greater ambitions. How so? By leading the entire team in special teams tackles a month into the season with four. That ties him for third-most in the league.
What a rise. If this keeps up, the Bears may have to start thinking about bigger plans for him. Remember that Alec Ogletree and Joel Iyiegbuniwe will be free agents next year. They may also consider cutting Danny Trevathan due to salary cap issues. That could present a prime opportunity for Johnson to battle for that starting spot opposite Roquan Smith.
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Caleb Johnson just feels like something different
Usually, an undrafted free agent might take a year or so before they start making a tangible impact on the roster. That isn’t the case here. Johnson was a factor from the beginning and continues to be one now. Becoming a special teams mainstay that fast? It isn’t nearly as normal as people might think. This showcases not only his talent but also his natural instincts and his work ethic.
Learning special teams can be a challenge. Especially for somebody who hasn’t done it a lot. Caleb Johnson didn’t have that problem. Undrafted rookie from a young program? Deep depth chart to climb? No problem. He conquered all of it and is only improving each week. If this trend continues, it’ll be another notch on the belt of GM Ryan Pace who has had some pretty favorable success on the undrafted market since arriving in 2015.
Here is hoping the fun continues.
The Bears special teams have performed quite well to start the season. At least in terms of their coverage units. Johnson is a big part of that success. As is rookie 6th round pick Khalil Herbert. Another reminder of how good this team is at finding pieces for the third phase.
