Exclusive: Matt Leinart reveals keys behind ‘big’ Caleb Williams prediction

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Exclusive: Matt Leinart reveals keys behind ‘big’ Caleb Williams prediction

DJ Siddiqi · ClutchPoints

Thu, Aug 21, 2025 ·

4 min read

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The post Exclusive: Matt Leinart reveals keys behind 'big' Caleb Williams prediction appeared first on ClutchPoints .

USC football legend Matt Leinart is very high on fellow ex-Trojans star Caleb Williams as he enters his second season with the Chicago Bears .

As the 2024 No. 1 overall pick prepares for Year 2 with an offensive guru in new head coach Ben Johnson at the helm , there will be heightened expectations. Williams showed some promise in his rookie campaign, but it didn't exactly show in the wins department. The Bears finished the season 5-12 and went on a 10-game losing streak, losing four one-possession games in the process,

Williams showed tremendous efficiency in taking care of the football, setting a rookie record with 354 passes without throwing an interception. He posted 20 touchdowns against six interceptions. However, he took 68 sacks, by far the most in the NFL and 16 more than the next-most-sacked quarterback in C.J. Stroud .

The young quarterback has a lot of work to do, but Leinart pointed to multiple reasons why he thinks Williams will succeed this season and beyond in Chicago.

"I think Caleb's going to have a big year," says Leinart in a one-on-one interview with ClutchPoints. "I thought he showed plenty of talent, reason why he was the No. 1 pick last year. But he's got to improve, and he knows that. Knowing him personally, he works really hard, he wants to be great. Sometimes that mentality is just half the battle. You want to put in the work to be great. And then he certainly does that."

How Ben Johnson will help Caleb Williams

The addition of Johnson as the team's new head coach should help Williams reach that next level in his second season. Johnson is renowned as one of the best offensive minds in the game, leading a high-powered Detroit Lions offense as their offensive coordinator over the past three seasons. The Lions led the league in points last season by averaging 33.2 points per game.

In contrast, the Bears ranked 28th in points and 32nd in yards last season.

"Ben Johnson's fantastic," says Leinart. "First-time head coach, it's always a little bit different. But incredible play caller, what he was able to do in Detroit with Jared Goff . You look at that offense and look at the way they ran the ball. He looked at the play action and Chicago's got a lot of nice pieces now. They've got guys and they've improved the offensive line, which needs to be better."

When looking purely at Chicago's offensive skill players, they have top talent. The Bears have Rome Odunze and DJ Moore at wide receiver along with running back D'Andre Swift and tight end Cole Kmet. They also added Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III in the draft. The offensive line clearly needs to be better, as Leinart outlines, but general manager Ryan Poles went out of his way to upgrade the line in the offseason.

One thing that Johnson does extremely well is coach quarterbacks. He helped develop Jared Goff into being one of the top passers in the league. Goff went to the Pro Bowl in two of the past three seasons.

"He's incredible," says Leinart. "I have a guy in Caleb Williams who is one of the most talented players in the NFL. His skill set is unmatched at that position. How do I get the most out of that? What is he great at? What can he do? What does he need to improve? Then you go attack those things.

"It sounds very simple, but it's just not," Leinart continues to say. "The NFL is a tough business. You're playing against great defenses. Coaches love some of the things that they love to do, but you have to be able to mold your offense around that player. Ben fits that. We'll certainly see."

Johnson threw the kitchen sink at Williams in training camp and has been happy with the progress , with a strong preseason debut against the Buffalo Bills bolstering the hype. Williams and the Bears will face the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason finale on Friday before a Week 1 showdown against the rival Minnesota Vikings .

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