NFL Expert Reveals Big Concern With Caleb Williams Ben Johnson Partnership

The Chicago Bears were 100% justified in their decision to hire Ben Johnson. Any chance you get to land one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, you do it. History says this approach often leads to great success in the future. Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Kansas City can all attest to this. The biggest reason for this decision was simple. Chicago wanted to get the most qualified person possible to handle the development of quarterback Caleb Williams. It certainly helped that the two had a mutual respect for each other.

Almost everybody inside and outside the NFL believes Johnson is precisely the caliber of offensive mind to take Williams into the stratosphere. However, not everybody is all in on this partnership. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic is one of the top film analysts out there. He raised a notable concern about why the two might not be compatible.

Williams had the fifth-highest average time to throw (3.13 seconds) last season. That’ll have to drastically change in Johnson’s offense, which requires making quick decisions. For context, Lions QB Jared Goff ranked 24th in average time to throw (2.88) last season. Johnson emphasized to Williams in OTAs the importance of quickly making his progressions and getting rid of the ball. Johnson got in Williams’ face for being late on a throw and explained what happened to the media after practice.

This already came up during practice. Johnson yelled at Williams during a passing drill because he didn't get to his read quickly enough, causing the throw to come out late. Is this something the quarterback can overcome?

Caleb Williams must work hard to improve his processing speed.

Contrary to popular myth, quarterbacks aren't stuck with however fast they can get through reads. There are ways to improve it. The issue has always been whether they will put in the necessary time. Passing drills, pre-snap reads, post-snap reads, constant film study, and even new virtual reality simulations have proven to help quarterbacks get faster with their eyes. Caleb Williams showed flashes that he could play the game on time last year. It was always a matter of doing it consistently. Johnson has said part of the problem was his receivers weren't always getting open like they should've. That led to Williams holding the ball sometimes, trying to make something happen. The goal is to find a happy medium between playing within the system and letting the quarterback use his incredible gifts.