Caleb Williams Wants Fewer Heart Attacks From the Bears in Year 2
Williams says Year 2 under Ben Johnson will be less of a 'heart race' — good news for a QB coming off 27 TDs and zero picks.
27 TD, 0 INT and a cleaner offense point to a QB1 leap in Year 2.
- 2025: 3,942 pass yds, 27 TD, 0 INT over 17 games
- 388 rush yds and 3 rushing TDs added upside
- 333 PPR points — QB5 finish, our rank #11 overall
- Second year in Ben Johnson's offense
- Bears needed late heroics in both 2025 playoff games
Caleb Williams put up 3,942 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and — this is not a typo — zero interceptions across 17 games last season, plus 388 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. That production made him a top-five fantasy quarterback, a 333-PPR-point finish that lands him at QB5 and #11 overall in our rankings. And yet, if you watched the Bears play, you know the ride was rarely smooth.
Williams is promising that changes in 2026. Speaking with Kay Adams, he said the offense is going to be more entertaining and, in his words, hopefully not as much of a heart race. Translation: fewer fourth-quarter escape acts, more games where Chicago actually controls the script from the opening drive.
Why the 'Cardiac Bears' Existed
Year 1 under Ben Johnson was a grind. Chicago struggled to install Johnson's complex system through camp, then bled delay-of-game penalties early in the season as everyone digested the new terminology. The offense routinely started slow, which forced Williams into hero mode late — and he mostly delivered, including in both playoff games. Thrilling to watch. Terrifying to rely on.
Williams says everything feels more natural now, and that the confidence runs across all three phases. That tracks. Second years in a scheme almost always produce cleaner starts, and a quarterback who threw zero picks in a chaotic first season should only get sharper as the reads come faster.
The Fantasy Angle
For fantasy purposes, the pitch is simple: a QB who already finished as a top-five option, with elite touchdown-to-turnover efficiency and legitimate rushing production, entering Year 2 of a system that should stop wasting the first quarter. If the slow starts vanish, Williams sees more scoring opportunities per game, not fewer — and that's the ceiling case that pushes a QB5 toward QB1.
The move is to buy low if his draft price still reflects last year's rocky vibes rather than his actual numbers. He was the QB5 in a bad-starts environment. Clean that up and you're getting a top-tier fantasy quarterback at a discount. Draft him with confidence and don't overthink the streaming alternatives.
