QB Caleb Williams is different. The way that he can throw off-balance, off-platform, off-anything. His swag. His spatial awareness. The way he can toy with defenders. You’ve seen the highlights from the game against the Bengals. His off-balance but perfectly-placed throw on the run to his left to WR Rome Odunze. His laser beam on the run to Odunze that would’ve been a TD if Rome had remembered where his feet were. His Houdini act TD scramble. And he’s just a rookie. Yes, this was preseason. Yes, he will make rookie mistakes where he tries to do too much. Yes, he and the offense looked disjointed to start that Bengals game. But if you’re a Bears fan like me, you have to be bursting at the seams with excitement right now thinking about the heights Williams can reach.

I’ve heard some media types say in the past couple months that Williams could become the biggest star in this city since Michael Jordan if he reaches his potential, and I have to agree. A superstar quarterback in Chicago? It seems like an impossible dream, but impossible dreams do come true sometimes. Just ask Al Michaels. Years from now, the trade GM Ryan Poles engineered on my birthday last year that brought WR DJ Moore and eventually Williams to Chicago (along with more draft picks) could eventually be looked at in a similar light to the Herschel Walker trade that kickstarted the Cowboys’ dynasty.

Coming back down to Earth a bit, the main thing that could prevent Williams from having a CJ Stroud-like rookie season is his O-line. Projected starting C Ryan Bates is injured, so C Coleman Shelton looks like he’ll start Week 1. The rest of the starters look ready to go for Week 1, but availability is often an issue for RG Nate Davis and LG Teven Jenkins. LT Braxton Jones is a solid player, and RT Darnell Wright was pretty good as a rookie last season. Projected swing tackle T Larry Borom was placed on IR/designated to return. If the starters can stay reasonably healthy (let’s just hypothetically assume they can), I think Williams will become the first Bears signal caller to ever hit the 4,000-yardmark in a single season, breaking Erik Kramer’s team record of 3,838 yards. Yes, there are questions about just how much the Bears will throw or have to throw, especially with the great defense they have. But Williams will be throwing to a better group of weapons than Stroud had last season. I don’t think Caleb will quite hit Kramer’s single-season mark of 29 TD passes, butI certainly think he will in the future.

RB D’Andre Swift was very impressive in camp/preseason, and he’s going to be the main man in this backfield. The Bears signed him because they wanted a good pass-catching back and a home-run hitter, and we saw a preview of that on his long screen pass against Buffalo in the preseason. I think he’s going to be a solid RB2 in PPR leagues Will he be the goal line back? I’m not sure, we’ll have to wait and see about that. At least Swift won’t be getting TDs vultured by Jalen Hurts anymore.Williams doesn’t have the running ability of Hurts or Justin Fields, and Caleb has said that he prefers throwing over running.

RB Khalil Herbert looked pretty good in the preseason, while RB Roschon Johnson was injured for much of it. I expect Herbert to get a few carries a game to spell Swift, but Khalil’s lack of pass-catching ability is likely to limit his flex upside. RB Velus Jones Jr ran wild in his new tailback role in the final preseason game and managed to sneak onto the 53. You can see a little Cordarrelle Patterson in him with his speed/power combo, but he’s just not likely to get enough touches/game to be a fantasy factor.

Moore is a stud and should be drafted as such. WR Keenan Allen has been out of practice recently with a foot issue, but Poles said he expects him to be fine for Week 1. Allen is 32, and he’s started to miss some time with injuries the past couple years. There have also been reports about him gaining quite a bit of weight in the offseason, though it’s just speculation. With so many mouths to feed in Chicago, Allen isn’t going to put up the numbers he did last season, but he is still Keenan Allen and should be a WR3-ish player in PPR leagues.

Rookie WR Rome Odunze is big, strong, deceptively fast, and great at contested catches. His snaps might be somewhat limited early on behind Moore and Allen, but if I had to make a bold prediction about this receiving corps, it’s that Odunze is going to be WR2 in this offense by the end of the season. I think he’s going to be really good. Should Allen or Moore miss time due to injuries this season, I think Rome could really take off.WR Tyler Scott looked pretty good in camp/preseason and will be WR4 in this offense, but likely won’t get enough snaps to be a fantasy factor.

TE Cole Kmet is a top 10-15 tight end for me, at least a borderline starter. Yes, there are a lot of mouths to feed, and TE Gerald Everett may take some targets away from him. But he has a quarterback who can really throw the ball now.

The main question about this unit has been who will start opposite DE Montez Sweat, and Poles tried to address that by going after Matthew Judon earlier this month, but he wasn’t able to get him. Afterward, Poles did manage to swing a trade for Seahawks DE Darrell Taylor for a 2025 sixth-rounder. The Bears also traded for Browns DT Chris Williams to address their lack of depth at tackle with DT Zacch Pickens injuired. If the Bears can rush the passer well enough, andif their starters (especially on the D-line) can stay healthy enough, this should at least be a top-ten fantasy defense, with potential to be top-five if DT Gervon Dexter has a breakout sophomore year and rookie DE Austin Booker can make at least a similar impact to the one Mark Anderson did as a rookie in 2006. Rookie P Tory Taylor had a nice camp/preseason and should be a difference-maker in Year 1.

PK Cairo Santos was his usual solid self in camp/preseason, but long snapper Patrick Scales had to have back surgery recently, creating some uncertainty in the kicking game. Scales was placed on IR/designated to return, so the team signed Scott Daly to replace him for now. The Bears should be in scoring positions more often this season, so if Daly is solid enough, Santos should at least be an average kicking option most weeks.

That's it for the preseason. I will return with my week #1 preview next week!

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