Ben Johnson: There’s no doubt Caleb Williams ‘played a big role’ in Bears’ pick

Caleb Williams attended Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s introductory press conference on Wednesday and at one point during his opening statement, Johnson turned around and addressed his new quarterback directly. -back.

“Caleb,” said Johnson, “I’m delighted to work with you. But it will take more than you. And many elements are already in place. And I look forward to working with you all.

While Johnson has repeatedly said Chicago’s team has the talent to compete, he made it clear that Williams was a key factor in the Bears accepting the job, saying, “Having a quarterback helps. “

“It’s clear that modern football in the NFL is focused on quarterbacks. It’s not a secret,” Johnson said. “You can look at the analytics: Right now, quarterback success is a better predictor of wins and losses than turnover rate – which has been for over 20 years. That has changed. There is no doubt that Caleb played an important role in my decision. He’s a phenomenal talent who, like many quarterbacks, had a rocky rookie year.

“Where I see my role is that of support. This offense will be calibrated with him in mind. We’re going to build this thing. It’s not just a matter of dropping a previous playbook on the table and starting there – no. We’re tearing this thing down to the studs and we’re going to build it with him in mind first and foremost, and then with the pieces around him second. I’m really looking forward to challenging him and pushing him, like I said before, to continue to grow and develop.

As Johnson said, Williams had both positive and negative moments as a rookie. He started all 17 games for Chicago, finishing with a 62.5% completion rate, 3,541 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 489 yards, although he also had a league-high 68 sacks, losing 466 yards.

Johnson said the key to getting Williams up to speed with the new offense will be time on task and confidence.

“I’ve already talked to Caleb – we’re going to have to spend a lot of time together,” Johnson said. “The playmaker and the quarterback have to be integrated. The quarterback must be able to see the play through the eyes of the caller. In my opinion, that’s the only way it works. So we’re going to be spending a lot of time together this spring, certainly during training camp. We will be able to see what progress we make.

“But there are already things that I’ve talked to him about that I’ve noticed in his game that I want to address and that I want to move forward and look at early and often here.”