Behind Caleb Williams' blossoming connection with his Big 3: Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III

Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune on Nov 7, 2026

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — It’s increasingly evident that the Chicago Bears have assembled quite the collection of pass catchers for Caleb Williams — but it’s not a simple matter of the more weapons he has, the better his production will be.

Williams has a lot on his plate, from checking alignments and setting up the right protections before the snap, to going through his reads after it.

Then he has to deliver an accurate ball.

Of course, the pass catchers play a big role in that process, namely being in the right spot at the precise time they need to be there.

Riding a three-game winning streak, coach Ben Johnson has liked what he’s seen lately from the whole operation.

“I think our passing game in general has been a little bit cleaner,” Johnson told reporters at Halas Hall on Wednesday. “These guys are doing a great job just with the details and where they’re supposed to be. I think Caleb’s completing the ball at a high rate right now and distributing it to really all these guys.

“We kind of had some lulls there early in the season of who’s getting the ball, when they’re getting the ball, and the last few games it feels like it’s getting distributed to everybody at a cleaner rate.”

Williams has been better at targeting the Bears’ top three receiving leaders: Luther Burden III (42), Colston Loveland (33) and Rome Odunze (tied with Kalif Raymond at 28).

Through eight games, the trio makes up 1,324 of the Bears’ 2,031 yards through the air and five of their eight passing touchdowns.

However, backup quarterbacks Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent seemed to forge a better connection with Burden, Loveland and Odunze when Williams was out of commission due to a hamstring injury.

But over the last three weeks, with Williams back under center, the Big 3 saw an increasing number of targets, from 19 (Atlanta Falcons) to 21 (New England Patriots) to 24 (Seattle Seahawks).

Here’s how the ball has been distributed to Bears pass catchers in each game this season:

— Week 8, Williams at Seahawks: 7 different Bears targeted, 34 total targets; 24 targets among Big 3 (70.6% of total targets), 18 catches

— Week 7, Williams vs. Patriots: 6 targeted, 30 total targets; 21 targets among Big 3 (70%), 15 catches

— Week 6, Williams at Falcons: 8 targeted, 33 total targets; 19 targets among Big 3 (57.6%), 17 catches

— Week 5, Bagent/Keenum at Packers: 9 targeted, 40 total targets; 20 targets among Big 3 (50%), 9 catches

— Week 4, Bagent vs. Jets: 9 targeted, 31 total targets; 22 targets among Big 3 (71%), 16 catches

— Week 3, Keenum vs. Eagles: 8 targeted, 34 total targets; 21 targets among Big 3 (61.8%), 14 catches

— Week 2, Williams/Bagent vs. Vikings: 8 targeted, 31 total targets; 14 targets among Big 3 (45%), 7 catches (Note: Before leaving the game with a hamstring injury, Williams threw eight of his 26 attempts to the Big 3, accounting for just 31% of his total targets and 3 catches.)

— Week 1, Williams at Panthers: 8 targeted, 26 total targets; 10 targets among Big 3 (38.5%), 7 catches.

Over the last three weeks, Williams and the Big 3 have connected for 50 catches on 64 targets — a 78.13% completion rate. Over his first two games, it was 55.6%.

Williams attributed it to “just consistency with being able to have these guys just over the past two years now. Rome (for) three. That’s big.

“The communication, our relationship as a group has grown,” he said. “We hang out together. We do things together. We eat together, break bread together. All these things. So you start building that relationship and that bond between each other.”

While draft capital guarantees nothing, each player came with a pedigree.

Odunze and Loveland were top-10 picks in their respective drafts, and Burden was a high second-rounder.

“They’re super-talented, so my job is just to put the ball in the area and try to give them the best ball I can each and every time,” Williams said.

Johnson acknowledged that Williams won’t always be able to prioritize his top pass catchers.

Sometimes one will have the hot hand, but then the throws just won’t be there the next week.

But he’s certain Williams has been more decisive, regardless.

“It’s a testament really to the work that he’s putting in,” Johnson said. “I said at the end of last week … he had to put a lot of time and effort into that game plan and spent time well outside of the guidelines, making sure he had that thing down.

“He believes … the process that we have each and every week. I think it’s helping him play faster at this point, and he’s got a lot of confidence in the guys around him, too, doing their jobs.”

Williams said he has harped on decisiveness since playing under coach Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma and USC.

“That’s one of the last things we’d say together in our QB meetings when I was with him: Be decisive, be decisive, be decisive, be decisive,” Williams said. “I think that’s kind of where it stems from.

“When you’re hesitant and things like that, bad things happen. So, ‘decisiveness wins’ is what I go by, a slogan I go by. Just trying to get better with that each and every day.”