Chicago Bears

West Coast — Rhythm passing sets up the run.
Team fit 89.0 A · Read the full guide →

3-4 Base — Two-gap front, hybrid edges.
Team fit 83.5 B+

The offense is the headline act here, by a clear margin. The face of it is Jeffery Simmons (DT, 96), and after him the defense falls off a cliff — the next-best defender is Devin Bush (86).

Caleb Williams (QB, 94) is the headliner. 97 throw power — a howitzer of an arm — every blade of grass is in range; 97 throw on the run — throws on the move like the play was drawn that way. Game-planning against this team starts with him and works backward.

The drop to the second option is gentle — D'Andre Swift (89) is a headliner on half the teams in the league. The line has a star of its own: Joe Thuney (LG, 96), the kind of blocker whole run concepts get built behind.

Jeffery Simmons (DT, 96) sets the terms. 97 strength — immovable when he anchors; 94 power moves — wins with power — the long arm and the bull rush, your tackle going backward; 93 block shedding — sheds blocks like they are optional. He is the problem the other sideline has to solve first.

It is a one-man headline, though — the next-best defender is Devin Bush (86), and offenses that survive the star find a much more ordinary unit behind him.

Cairo Santos (78) kicks — 94 leg, 85 accuracy. Tory Taylor (75) punts — 95 leg, 77 accuracy. The return game has a genuine weapon: Kalif Raymond (86 return, 91 speed).

Offense: Zavion Thomas (WR, 72 OVR) — a 96 speed buried at 72 overall. Speed is the one trait that plays at any overall — it travels to any package, any formation, any Sunday.

Defense: Josh Blackwell (CB, 65 OVR). Read the ratings page twice: the overall says 65, the speed says 94. Overall is about the whole job; that speed is about one job, and he can already do that one as well as most starters.