How Ben Johnson Changes the 2025 Chicago Bears Fantasy Football Outlook

The Chicago Bears are entering 2025 with a new spark of optimism, thanks to the arrival of offensive mastermind Ben Johnson as their head coach. Johnson, widely regarded for his creative play-calling and ability to maximize player potential, steps into a team with a wealth of talent that failed to live up to expectations this past season. With Johnson’s track record of designing high-powered offenses, us fantasy football managers have to be excited about the potential breakouts in this Bears offense in 2025.

This article delves into how Johnson’s schemes could reshape the Bears’ fantasy outlook, from potential breakout performances to strategic shifts that could redefine player value across all positions. With an emphasis on play design and maximizing the skill sets of his players, Ben Johnson’s impact on the Bears might allow us to find some steals on draft day next season.

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Ben Johnson’s Impact on Each Player in FF

We all talk about Ben Johnson being a genius but he truly elevated the Lions offense to new heights when he took over as the offensive coordinator with few personnel changes. Johnson recorded three straight seasons ranking in the top five of many important offensive categories. Below is a breakdown of Johnson’s success in Detroit.

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The production on the field translated into big scoring days from a plethora of players in fantasy football as well. Below are all of the Lions’ starters’ points per game and finishes among their positions in PPR formats in 2024.

Every single main contributor on the Lions this season finished as a top option in fantasy football with the explosives and creative play designs from Ben Johnson behind an elite offensive line. Let’s take a look at how each player from Chicago will look with Johnson at the helm in 2025.

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Caleb Williams QB16 (14.97 PPG)

Caleb Williams is coming off of a rough rookie season where he graded out as the 33rd-ranked quarterback in the NFL with a 67.1 grade. Jared Goff with Johnson as his offensive coordinator has never finished below a 72.4 grade in his system while being a reliable streamer in fantasy football. In the last three seasons, Goff has ranked within the top six of the NFL in red zone touchdowns while Williams found himself in the bottom half of the NFL this season.

Williams will benefit from getting the ball out of his hands quicker with better play design. The interesting question is will Johnson open the playbook to more QB runs with an athletic quarterback? Williams had 489 rushing yards potentially adding a new wrinkle in the playbook that was not part of Detroit’s success. Overall, it is safe to say that Caleb Williams will be better than he was in his rookie season. This offseason he should be a late-round flier in drafts who will likely vault into the top twelve quarterbacks.

D’Andre Swift RB19 (12.82 PPG)

D’Andre Swift has experience with Johnson when he finished with 13.2 points per game totaling close to 900 yards and 8 touchdowns. Swift’s target rate during that time was 15.1% and has not seen a target share of over 11% in the last two seasons. We know Johnson has operated with two backs over the last three seasons leading to less early down work for the veteran running back but with an increased receiving role, Swift should be drafted as an RB3 in 2025.

Roschon Johnson RB54 (5.95 PPG)

Roschon Johnson is the wild card of the group here. We know how successful David Montgomery and Jamaal Williams have been in Detroit being bruiser running backs totaling 42 touchdowns over the last three seasons. Johnson will fill that role in Chicago if they do not make any moves this offseason at running back. He will be a highly coveted sleeper this offseason and will be more valuable in non-ppr formats.

D.J. Moore WR16 (14.01 PPG)

Despite finishing as the WR16, D.J. Moore had a letdown season only reaching scoring more than 16 points four times this year. Moore’s utilization this season was often confusing having him run a variety of short routes eliminating his use as a deep threat for the Bears that made him so successful in 2023. It is safe to say that he will be in for a rebound season in 2025 working closer to his 16 points per game that he averaged in 2023. If Moore is utilized like Amon-Ra St. Brown in Chicago, he will have WR1 upside next season.

Rome Odunze WR49 (8.52 PPG)

Rome Odunze was not as bad as many expected in his rookie season with 54 catches for 734 yards and 3 touchdowns in his rookie. If you look into the numbers, Odunze can be a plus-deep threat in the NFL. He ranked 15th in contested catch rate, 11th in aDot, and 43rd in target separation among receivers. Based on this data his expected points per game should have been 13.5, nearly five more than his 2024 total. Odunze will be drafted as a WR3 this offseason and will be better in his second season.

Cole Kmet TE19 (7.53 PPG)

Cole Kmet is the one player on this list who could have a hard time seeing a benefit from the addition of Ben Johnson. Kmet despite playing the third-highest snap share among tight ends, finished 30th in target share and 29th in air yards share. In Detroit, Sam LaPorta and T.J. Hockenson have never finished over 900 receiving yards or higher than a 16% target share. Both LaPorta and Hockenson are much better than Kmet leading to potentially another inconsistent season for the tight end.

Keenan Allen? WR34 (12.29 PPG)

The jury is out right now on Keenan Allen returning to Chicago after a pedestrian season this year. There have been more rumors of him returning to Los Angeles instead of returning to the Bears next year. I believe if Allen does return to this offense, his lack of burst/separation at his current age suggests more of the WR3 role that has never been valuable in this type of offense.

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Overall Analysis

The Bears’ offense will look much different than the Lions over the last three seasons with a different playing style from their franchise quarterbacks. Ben Johnson will provide the structure needed for Caleb Williams to develop as a field general. With upgrades potentially on the way and an improved offensive system around Williams, the sky is the limit with his talent. The talent is there for the Bears offense to be a top ten unit in 2025 ultimately making their players sneaky picks in fantasy football drafts this year.

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