For the third straight day, the Bears conducted a non-contact training camp practice that was closed to the public Monday at Halas Hall. Here's what transpired:
The rapport between Caleb Williams and DJ Moore was evident as the rookie quarterback and veteran receiver teamed up to produce two impact plays.
In a 7-on-7 drill, Williams scrambled to his right and threw across his body deep down the middle to Moore, who caught the ball in stride. The two later sustained a two-minute drive by picking up a first down on a completion on fourth-and-3.
Coach Matt Eberflus praised Williams and the offense for effectively transferring what they've learned in walk-throughs into practice.
"I can see that operation getting better every single day," Eberflus said. "The pre-snap penalties are down, getting in and out of the huddle is good. That's just because we're learning the system, learning how to do it and we're learning how to break the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage and operate our motions and shifts and make our calls. I think that's really been good, and Caleb is the apex of that. He's just going to keep getting better at it, keep progressing every single day."
In the first three training camp practices, veteran left guard Teven Jenkins has been most impressed with Williams' pocket presence.
"We have a 'three' and a 'five' (technique) on the other side and they both rush outside, and he understands he can just step up because all their cover-two drops," Jenkins said. "It's like 'Oh wow, I can just step up,' and [complete a pass for] 20 yards easy. He's sliding in the pocket, seeing the pressures and everything, so I've been really impressed by that."
Competition continues
Opening training camp with five non-contact practices, Eberflus is in no hurry to declare a winner in the competition for the starting center position between veterans Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton.
"We're going to let that play out," Eberflus said. "I told the guys today, 'You make the team or you make your position in pads.' It's hard to evaluate guys when we're out here and not in pads. The pass protection is hard. The pass rush is hard to really evaluate if a guy can bore around the corner or if he can really protect against the bull rush. We put limits on the guys a little bit—what they can and cannot do—so they don't [get injured] while we're in shells."
Giving Hoke his due
Last season cornerback Jaylon Johnson was named to his first Pro Bowl and voted second-team All-Pro after tying for the Bears lead with four interceptions. The breakout performance came in his first year with Jon Hoke as his position coach—and after Johnson had picked off one pass in his first three seasons.
"I don't know if this has been said before: He's got the best corner coach in the league," Eberflus said. "I'm telling you: Jon Hoke is the best. Peanut Tillman's coach, I mean you can start naming the names and this guy can coach. So that's probably a big part of it.
"But Jaylon also worked at it. He saw he needed to get better at something. He knew that the best corners take the ball away and he worked at it. He was on the JUGS (machine). He was working the catch points with his coach. Working the distracted throws with his coach. Working busted triangle in the catch point. I mean he worked all those things that you do as a DB coach and a DB. And he got better at it. So, he just put his attention to it, his focus to it and it happened."
Rehired in 2023 as cornerbacks coach and passing game coordinator, Hoke is in his third stint with the Bears; he played in 11 games as a reserve DB in 1980 and served as defensive backs coach from 2009-14.
Asked about the most valuable thing Hoke brings to the defense, nickel back Kyler Gordon said: "He's been in the game for a long, long time, so his knowledge. He will go all the way back 20 years and talk about something and bring it up in the meetings and be like, 'This hasn't changed.' He will bring a lot of pointers. Very smart coach. IQ guy, so I feel like that's what he brings to our room a lot."
Takeaway time
After tying for the NFL lead with 22 interceptions last season, the Bears defense is determined to pick up where it left off. In practice, there's a friendly competition among players to generate takeaways.
"We definitely compete to see who is going to have the most turnovers, who is going to have the most PBUs (pass breakups)," Gordon said. "It is always a constant competition who is going to make the next play. As you see, our defense has a lot of energy, so it would be from the left corner to the right corner to the 'Mike' (middle linebacker) to the D-linemen. It just bounces all over."
In Monday's practice, reserve defensive back Greg Stroman Jr. recorded an interception.
Smooth and seamless
The Bears boast a strong secondary that features four key returnees in Johnson, Gordon, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and safety Jaquan Brisker. The only new starter is veteran safety Kevin Byard III.
In terms of communication, Gordon indicated that the transition to Byard has been smooth and seamless.
"I don't feel like there's been any drop-off at all," Gordon said. "I've had no problems with him at all. He's a very good communicator, and our whole secondary talks a lot as well."
Byard has appeared in 130 NFL games with 121 starts over eight seasons with the Titans (2016-23) and Eagles (2023). He has recorded 749 tackles, 28 interceptions, 66 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, 15 tackles-for-loss, 4.0 sacks and two touchdowns.
Byard's 28 interceptions are tied for the fifth most among active NFL players. He was chosen first-team All-Pro and voted to the Pro Bowl in 2017 when he led the NFL with a career-high eight interceptions and again in 2021 when he picked off five passes.
Support system
The Bears are excusing safety Jonathan Owens from training camp July 29-Aug. 3 so he can travel to Paris to watch his wife, legendary USA gymnast Simone Biles, compete in the Olympics.
Eberflus said the team is giving Owens permission "because we respect the Olympics. That is a big deal. He's just supporting the one he loves the most, and I think that's so cool that he gets to do that. We welcome that and it's going to be awesome. Go USA!"
