Caleb Williams falling short of this Ben Johnson training camp goal

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson set a lofty goal for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams in 2025: a 70% completion rate.

To put that in perspective, only five quarterbacks with 399 or more pass attempts accomplished that feat in 2024: Tua Tagovailoa (72.9%), Jared Goff (72.4%), Baker Mayfield (71.4%), Joe Burrow (70.6%), and Geno Smith (70.4%).

It’s a high bar for Williams to reach. He completed 62.5% of his passes as a rookie, albeit behind a horrendous offensive line and an offensive scheme that had no direction. Still, great quarterbacks need to be… great.

Through the first few weeks of 2025 training camp, Caleb Williams is falling short of Johnson’s stated goal.

“We’ve been underneath that bar,” Johnson said from Halas Hall on Friday. “That happens. We’re learning, we’re growing. Early on we were probably 55%. It’s gotten better as camp has gone on, but we haven’t hit that threshold as often as we would like.”

Ben Johnson outlined what Caleb Williams must improve

According to Johnson, Williams must improve his footwork and anticipation to reach that 70% mark. The assumption is that with more reps, those traits will get better. But it’s a slippery slope anytime a quarterback — especially the first overall pick — struggles with basic fundamentals of QB play.

In-game reps should help Caleb Williams expedite his learning curve in Ben Johnson’s system. He’ll get his first live action of the 2025 preseason on Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills, although it’s still unclear how much he’ll play.

I’d expect about one quarter, or maybe a bit more, for Williams and the starters in Week 2’s preseason matchup. Remember: there are only three preseason games to get ready for the opener. And with this year’s season kicking off on Monday Night Football against a tough NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears need all the dress rehearsals they can get.

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