Mark Potash

From the opener at home against a rebuilding Titans team under a rookie head coach, Caleb Williams & Co. will have opportunities for early success. The toughest part of the schedule comes in the final eight games.

The Sun-Times’ Bears experts — Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser and Mark Potash — break down the team’s dynamic offseason to this point.

The rookie wide receiver has plenty of confidence but also a healthy appreciation for playing with fellow rookie Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick: “Coming in with a rookie quarterback allows us to grow together and learn this offense together. It’s a blessing.”

The ballyhooed No. 1 overall draft pick and wide receiver Rome Odunze (the No. 9 overall pick) give this rookie camp more spark than usual — a passing combination that should become a reality in the 2024 regular season.

Avellini’s miraculous 37-yard touchdown pass to Greg Latta with three seconds left beat the Chiefs 28-27 in 1977 and sparked a six-game winning streak that put the Bears in the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

With No. 1 pick Caleb Williams, proven weapons in DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and D’Andre Swift and a touted rookie in Rome Odunze, it’s up to the Bears’ new offensive coordinator to make it work.

The Bears ended up taking five players after giving up a 2025 fourth-rounder to pick Kansas defensive end Austin Booker in the fifth round.

Just when it appeared the Bears had used their final pick on Iowa punter Tory Taylor, they traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Bills to take the 6-4, 253-pound edge rusher from Kansas who had eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2023.

The Bears have been known for their defense — The Monsters of the Midway. But with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet & Co., the offense has the chance to become the identity of a franchise for the first time since the Sid Luckman era.