I like what the Bears are doing, bolstering their offensive line. They traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and they signed Drew Dalman. They’re trying to give Caleb Williams every opportunity to succeed.
With Ben Johnson taking over that offense, I imagine they’ll be running the ball more, trying to duplicate what worked for him in Detroit. (Jackson played with Johnson there before signing with the Rams; now those two are back together.)
High on the to-do list will be getting the ball out of Williams’ hands sooner. He took 68 sacks last year. Some of those were on the offensive line, but a lot were on him simply holding the ball too long, either trying to make a play or not recognizing what was coming.
Relying more on the run should ease things on Williams, and Johnson at the league meetings indicates they’ll also be lining him up more often under center.
Sounds good in theory, but they’ll need to coach him up, re-wiring his decision making. That’s not easy to do.
Among quarterbacks selected in the first round, only two in the 32-team era averaged more sacks in their rookie seasons: David Carr and Justin Fields. Both of those guys continued to be plagued by a tendency to take sacks for their duration of their careers. The same for Russell Wilson and Daniel Jones; some guys just take more sacks.
It's not easy to fix, so we’ll see. On the plus side of the ledger, Bryce Young took sacks as a Caleb-type rate two years ago but was able to cut things down a bunch in his second season.
In the chart below, you’re seeing only first-round quarterbacks (otherwise the list would be twice as long), and you’re seeing only guys who started more than half of the season.
| SACK RATES, FIRST-ROUND QUARTERBACKS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | GS | Com | Yds | TD | Int | Sk | Pct |
| 2002 | Joey Harrington, Det. | 12 | 50.1% | 2,294 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 1.8% |
| 2008 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 61.1% | 3,440 | 16 | 11 | 17 | 3.8% |
| 2024 | • Bo Nix, Den. | 17 | 66.3% | 3,775 | 29 | 12 | 24 | 4.1% |
| 2003 | Byron Leftwich, Jac. | 13 | 57.2% | 2,819 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 4.3% |
| 2015 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | 16 | 58.3% | 4,042 | 22 | 15 | 27 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | Baker Mayfield, Cle. | 13 | 63.8% | 3,725 | 27 | 14 | 25 | 4.9% |
| 2021 | Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 17 | 59.6% | 3,641 | 12 | 17 | 32 | 5.0% |
| 2021 | Mac Jones, N.E. | 17 | 67.6% | 3,801 | 22 | 13 | 28 | 5.1% |
| 2020 | Justin Herbert, LAC | 15 | 66.6% | 4,336 | 31 | 10 | 32 | 5.1% |
| 2012 | Brandon Weeden, Cle. | 15 | 57.4% | 3,385 | 14 | 17 | 28 | 5.1% |
| 2016 | Carson Wentz, Phil. | 16 | 62.4% | 3,782 | 16 | 14 | 33 | 5.2% |
| 2006 | Matt Leinart, Ari. | 11 | 56.8% | 2,547 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 5.3% |
| 2010 | Sam Bradford, St.L. | 16 | 60.0% | 3,512 | 18 | 15 | 34 | 5.4% |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford, Det. | 10 | 53.3% | 2,267 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 6.0% |
| 2012 | Andrew Luck, Ind. | 16 | 54.1% | 4,374 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 6.1% |
| 2011 | Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 60.0% | 4,051 | 21 | 17 | 35 | 6.3% |
| 2020 | Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 9 | 64.1% | 1,814 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 6.5% |
| 2009 | Josh Freeman, T.B. | 9 | 54.5% | 1,855 | 10 | 18 | 20 | 6.5% |
| 2022 | Kenny Pickett, Pitt. | 12 | 63.0% | 2,404 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 6.5% |
| 2006 | Vince Young, Ten. | 13 | 51.5% | 2,199 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 6.5% |
| 2009 | Mark Sanchez, NYJ | 15 | 53.8% | 2,444 | 12 | 20 | 26 | 6.7% |
| 2012 | Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 16 | 58.3% | 3,294 | 12 | 13 | 35 | 6.7% |
| 2018 | Sam Darnold, NYJ | 13 | 57.7% | 2,865 | 17 | 15 | 30 | 6.8% |
| 2008 | Joe Flacco, Balt. | 16 | 60.0% | 2,971 | 14 | 12 | 32 | 7.0% |
| 2003 | Kyle Boller, Balt. | 9 | 51.8% | 1,260 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 7.1% |
| 2023 | C.J. Stroud, Hou. | 15 | 63.9% | 4,108 | 23 | 5 | 38 | 7.1% |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin, Was. | 15 | 65.6% | 3,200 | 20 | 5 | 30 | 7.1% |
| 2020 | Joe Burrow, Cin. | 10 | 65.3% | 2,688 | 13 | 5 | 32 | 7.3% |
| 2019 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 12 | 61.9% | 3,027 | 24 | 12 | 38 | 7.6% |
| 2012 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 64.1% | 3,118 | 26 | 10 | 33 | 7.7% |
| 2018 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 11 | 52.8% | 2,074 | 10 | 12 | 28 | 8.0% |
| 2019 | Kyler Murray, Ari. | 16 | 64.4% | 3,722 | 20 | 12 | 48 | 8.1% |
| 2013 | EJ Manuel, Buff. | 10 | 58.8% | 1,972 | 11 | 9 | 28 | 8.4% |
| 2017 | Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 12 | 59.4% | 2,193 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 8.6% |
| 2011 | Blaine Gabbert, Jac. | 14 | 50.8% | 2,214 | 12 | 11 | 40 | 8.8% |
| 2014 | Teddy Bridgewater, Min. | 12 | 64.4% | 2,919 | 14 | 12 | 39 | 8.8% |
| 2024 | • Jayden Daniels, Was. | 17 | 69.0% | 3,568 | 25 | 9 | 47 | 8.9% |
| 2024 | • Drake Maye, N.E. | 12 | 66.6% | 2,276 | 15 | 10 | 34 | 9.1% |
| 2004 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 13 | 66.4% | 2,621 | 17 | 11 | 30 | 9.2% |
| 2015 | Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 12 | 62.2% | 2,818 | 19 | 10 | 38 | 9.3% |
| 2011 | Christian Ponder, Min. | 10 | 54.3% | 1,853 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 9.3% |
| 2018 | Josh Rosen, Ari. | 13 | 55.2% | 2,278 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 10.3% |
| 2021 | Zach Wilson, NYJ | 13 | 55.6% | 2,334 | 9 | 11 | 44 | 10.3% |
| 2014 | Blake Bortles, Jac. | 13 | 58.9% | 2,908 | 11 | 17 | 55 | 10.4% |
| 2023 | Bryce Young, Car. | 16 | 59.8% | 2,877 | 11 | 10 | 62 | 10.5% |
| 2024 | Caleb Williams, Chi. | 17 | 62.5% | 3,541 | 20 | 6 | 68 | 10.8% |
| 2021 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 10 | 58.9% | 1,870 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 11.8% |
| 2002 | David Carr, Hou. | 16 | 52.5% | 2,592 | 9 | 15 | 76 | 14.6% |
—Ian Allan