The NFL had its first big head coaching hire over the weekend, as the Chicago Bears are freportedly inalizing a deal to hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head man. On the surface, it appears to be a great decision for the Bears in real and fantasy football.
Johnson was Detroit’s OC for the last three years, during which time his offenses finished no worse than fifth in points per game average (including first overall in 2024), and no worse than fourth in total net yards per game. His offenses threw the ball 54.7 percent of the time in those three seasons, and it ranked in the top three in red-zone snaps.
This is all great news for the future fantasy values of the Bears' offensive assets, maybe none more than Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. (Keenan Allen is slated to become a free agent, so we’ll see if he remains with the team.) Willams, in particular, will be in a good position to improve on his QB16 finish based on fantasy points as a rookie.
Under Johnson’s watch, Jared Goff finished 10th, seventh, and sixth in fantasy points at the quarterback position. Goff ranked a far less impressive 13th, 19th and 24th in his previous three seasons. Of course, it won’t be as easy as Johnson simply taking the reins for Williams to emerge into a major fantasy asset … the Bears have work to do on their line.
Last season, no team allowed more sacks of its quarterback than Chicago. In fact, the Bears gave up more than twice as many sacks as the Lions! What’s more, only the New York Giants allowed more sacks than Chicago in the last three seasons. In that same timeframe, the Lions allowed the third-fewest sacks of their quarterbacks. Chicago holds eight picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including four in the top 72, so they’ll need to add offensive linemen.
In addition to Williams, fantasy managers should also consider Odunze a potential breakout candidate with Johnson calling the shots. If the team decides to part ways with Allen, Odunze's target share would skyrocket in what promises to be an improved offense.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fantasy Football Impact of Ben Johnson Being Hired By The Bears (Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze Get Boosts).