There were many reasons why the Chicago Bears took a major step in 2025 and enjoyed some playoff success.

Head coach Ben Johnson ushered in a winning culture to the franchise in his first season. Quarterback Caleb Williams pulled off the impossible countless times. The defense found its way to the ball and led the NFL in takeaways.

But a major reason for the renaissance was one of the league’s best offensive lines.

Chicago’s offensive line last season ended years of inconsistency from the group. Williams had strong protection for the first time in his career and wasn’t forced to instantly scramble. The Bears’ running game also became one of the league’s best behind strong blocking.

So can the unit repeat last year’s success?

It’s hard to get a full understanding of how offensive and defensive lines will play based on Organized Team Activities (OTA) and minicamp practices. Players don’t have their pads on and aren’t allowed to go at each other or the quarterback at full speed.

There were a few interesting tidbits to come out of the spring. Here are three of them.

Wide open left tackle competition?

For a second straight training camp, the Bears will be looking for a starting left tackle. But it’s up in the air whether it will be less of a competition this time around.

Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie, Theo Benedet and Jedrick Wills Jr. will all compete for the starting job. Though Jones and Amegadjie were the lone players to take snaps at left tackle with the first team offense in open OTA and minicamp practices to reporters.

It seems like Jones will have a chance to defend a job that used to be his. Jones started at the spot for three seasons before Johnson and his staff took over. He started the first four games last year before he was benched and Ozzy Trapilo ultimately took over.

Bears coaches were interested to see how Jones looked after dealing with injuries for the last year. They felt they never got a chance to fully evaluate him since he recovered from an ankle injury last offseason and then was injured for the second half of last year.

“It’s hard to say who’s up, who’s down, who’s trending sideways,” Johnson said. “You really can’t say a whole lot right now but I do think he would probably tell you, same as Jaylon [Johnson], he’s a lot more comfortable in what’s being asked of him and hopefully the game continues to slow down.”

Jones did feel more comfortable heading into the summer compared to last year. He told reporters last week that’s regained trust in his body in order to compete for the starting job, even if he downplayed it being his to lose.

“I think that’s the biggest thing is just reps, getting as many reps as I can,” Jones said of the competition. “Obviously, got to be better in certain areas, pass pro, run-game efficiency, all of that is going to come together. But I think the amount of reps I can get and just turning the body, making sure everything’s rolling, and taking as many reps that I possibly can is going to be the biggest thing to set me apart. And then, everything will come after that.”

Will there be a battle at center?

The Bears will have at least one battle for a starting job on its offensive line once training camp starts. The question remains whether there will be two.

Chicago suddenly had an opening at center when Drew Dalman suddenly retired this offseason. Bears general manager Ryan Poles addressed the opening by trading for veteran Garrett Bradbury before the start of free agency and then drafting Logan Jones in the second round.

Johnson said during the offseason that it would be up to Jones whether there would be a competition for the starting center job. Bradbury has started 105 games over his seven-year career, helping the New England Patriots reach the Super Bowl last season. He took all of the snaps at center with the first team during open offseason practices.

“I feel like having Garrett in there, he’s been in the league for eight years so you know a lot of schemes he’s been around are very similar to what we do,” right guard Jonah Jackson said. “He’s a smart guy. [Left guard] Joe [Thuney] had a lot of familiarity with him so knowing that and getting to know him a little more, I feel like it’s been pretty easy gelling together.”

That doesn’t mean Jones can’t make things interesting once the pads come on. The Bears were impressed with Jones to select him in the second round. That continued with what they saw as Jones adjusted to life in the NFL.

“Extremely mature,” Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar said. “Really focused. You immediately felt his football intellect. All the things that we had learned about him speaking with their staff was absolutely on point.”

Keeping the rest going

Despite some uncertainty, the Bears will have stability with a majority of their starters from last season coming back.

Thuney will return after he made a major impact in his first season in Chicago last year. He won the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award last season, given to the NFL’s top offensive lineman, and added another season of All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.

Jackson comes back after one of the better seasons of his career. He appeared in every game during the regular season for the first time since 2021 and opened things up on the right side of the line along with right tackle Darnell Wright. After a season where Jackson fell a little under the radar, Bears coaches were excited for what’s next.

“He’s something of the spokesman up front there,” Johnson said. “He’s played a lot of ball. He’s played in big games. He’s played at a high level. As far as I’m concerned, he played at a Pro Bowl level last year as well. Certainly didn’t get those accolades, but hopefully another year fully healthy, he’ll get that recognition.”

Wright will try to earn more of that recognition after a breakthrough season last year. He and Jackson transformed the right side of the line and Wright earned his first Second Team All-Pro honor, setting himself up for a big potential extension this offseason.

“It’s hard to say who’s up, who’s down, who’s trending sideways. You really can’t say a whole lot right now but I do think [Braxton Jones] would probably tell you ... he’s a lot more comfortable in what’s being asked of him and hopefully the game continues to slow down.”

—  Ben Johnson, Bears head coach

Johnson was impressed with Wright’s professionalism since Johnson came to Chicago. The Bears ran heavily on the right side because of Wright and are expected to do that once again next season.

“I think he’s one of those tackles that’s a powerful player and can displace guys off the line of scrimmage,” Johnson said. “So when you have that available, it’s such a luxury that you really want to sync into it and he’s proven that he can do that and carry the load if you will a lot of times in the running game on his back. Very pleased with that. ... His discipline continues to get better, just like I said the professionalism with which he enters the building just continues to get better every single day.”