Ben Johnson vs. The NFL Scoring Record: Where to Draft Chicago Bears (Fantasy Football)

Over the offseason, Offensive Genius and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson sent shockwaves through the fantasy community by stating he wants to surpass the legendary 2013 Denver Broncos, who hold the all-time record with 606 points and 37.9 points per game. Ben Johnson specifically said, “I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos.” Not a top-5 offense; not the best offense of the season (two goals he already achieved in Detroit). No. The Best Ever. That is a very exciting prospect.

Now, is it likely that the 2026 Chicago Bears will be the best offense of all time? Of course not. Ben Johnson is fantastic at drawing up offenses, but it is a stretch to compare a Year 3 Caleb Williams to a Year 16 future Hall of Famer like Peyton Manning. Plus, this is the Bears – you know, that team that hasn’t ever had a 4,000-yard passer? Plus, the 2026 Bears also seem to be having some offensive line troubles right now…

But let’s just pretend none of that exists. In this exercise, let’s pretend that Ben Johnson will lead the highest-scoring offense in history. What would that mean for all the fantasy-relevant Bears? When a playcaller aims to build the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, it forces us to re-evaluate how we value his players on draft night. If Johnson’s Bears actually touch the sun and break Peyton Manning‘s record, how deeply could you draft this roster and still crush baseline market values?

QB Analysis: Caleb Williams (The Peyton Manning Role)

In 2013, Peyton Manning did not just win leagues; he broke them by throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 TDs to finish as the undisputed overall QB1. If Ben Johnson chases that ghost, Caleb Williams is the ultimate draft-day cheat code. Currently sliding into the middle rounds, Williams stepping into a record-breaking environment completely deletes his market floor. Johnson’s scheme would demand hyper-efficiency, pushing Williams into a historic TD tier and vaulting him past expensive, established signal-callers straight into elite top-3 overall fantasy status.

The stark difference in both experience level (three years for Williams vs. 16 years for Manning) and accuracy rate (60.3% for Williams vs. 68.6% for Manning) is what makes this exercise the most unbelievable. For Williams to see a 15% improvement in accuracy and to double his TD passes is a humongous mountain to climb. That said, Williams possesses athletic traits that Peyton Manning could not even dream of. Because of these added tools, Williams is unlikely to need 55 TD passes to approach Manning’s 420 fantasy points. Williams was the QB6 last year, and he is being drafted as the QB7-11 (depending on your preferred platform). With risk mostly baked in, he is a great bet if you tend to believe in Ben Johnson‘s lofty goals.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

WR Analysis: The Consolidated Ceiling

With veterans out of the picture, this passing game is an incredibly concentrated funnel. The 2013 Broncos proved that an all-time great offense can support three top-20 fantasy WRs.

Join the World's Largest Fantasy League

Enter the Megalabowl

• WR1: Luther Burden III (The Demaryius Thomas Role): Demaryius Thomas was a physical marvel who dominated after the catch, turning short screens and quick slants into explosive house calls. Shifting Burden into this alpha role makes perfect sense. Burden is an elite YAC monster, and Ben Johnson would use him as an offensive weapon all over the formation. In a record-breaking year, Burden’s ceiling isn’t just a low-end WR1 – it is an overall top-5 standard/PPR finish fueled by manufactured touches and explosive chunk plays.
• WR2: Rome Odunze (The Eric Decker Role): Eric Decker quietly posted an 87-catch, 1,288-yard, 11-TD season in 2013 by being a precise route runner and a dominant boundary threat. Odunze fits this mold. While Burden dominates the short-to-intermediate areas, Odunze would win downfield and rule the red zone. This creates an elite WR1 ceiling for Odunze, locking him in as a highly efficient TD machine.
• WR3: Zavion Thomas (The Wes Welker Role): Welker was a lethal, short-area chain-mover who scored 10 TDs in 13 games. Rookie third-rounder Zavion Thomas possesses elite 4.28 speed but plays like an RB in a receiver’s body. If Thomas locks down the starting slot role, his ability to turn quick hitters into massive horizontal gains makes him an interesting late-round option.

That said, to compare Zavion Thomas to Wes Welker is a bit of a joke. Welker was a four-time All-Pro, whereas Thomas is a rookie with mediocre draft grades. Still, nobody is drafting him, and if you like this offense and you like Ben Johnson, he is a great option as a late-round flier.

Additionally, I like the comp to Decker for Rome Odunze. Rome is likely to inherit many high-value downfield chunk plays, and almost certainly would score far more TDs than his ADP projects in a record-breaking offense. He seems like a very good bet to outperform his ADP, with many drafters pivoting toward Burden.

Luther Burden‘s ADP rise stalled with his training camp injury, but we could see it rise again as he progresses. For now, WR20 – WR25 in a draft is great value if you are a big believer in this offense.

The problem for all these pass-catchers remains the man lurking in the TE section.

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

RB Analysis: The Backfield Reality Check

In 2013, Knowshon Moreno emerged from a messy preseason backfield to dominate as the overall RB4, primarily driven by a massive TD volume (13 rushing, three receiving) inside a high-flying offense. However, we need to inject some reality into the comparison here: this current Bears split backfield will not result in the raw volume Moreno saw in 2013. Back then, Moreno logged 241 carries and 60 receptions on a whopping 73% snap share. Ben Johnson‘s modern offensive philosophy simply does not ride one RB into the dirt like that anymore.

Instead, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai are going to cannibalize each other’s volume far more than Moreno and Montee Ball ever did. The path to an elite ceiling for Swift will not be 300 touches; it will be pure, unadulterated efficiency. In a record-chasing offense, Swift’s value will come from high-leverage targets and premium red-zone opportunities, while Kyle Monangai limits Swift’s floor by eating into his TD totals. Both RBs will be fine picks, but I think the real value in this offense comes from the passing game.

Join the World's Largest Fantasy League

Enter the Megalabowl

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

TE Analysis: Colston Loveland (The Julius Thomas Role)

Julius Thomas shocked the world in 2013, riding a ridiculous TD rate straight to a TE3 overall finish as a dynamic, athletic seam-buster. Colston Loveland is the exact type of modern, mismatch TE who can recreate that magic. In a Ben Johnson offense scoring nearly 38 points per game, Loveland becomes the ultimate safety valve and red zone weapon for Caleb Williams. Loveland would effortlessly outpace his current draft cost, turning a highly concentrated target share into an absolute positional advantage and a mandatory tier-one fantasy asset.

We can argue all day about whether Rome Odunze or Luther Burden is the WR1 on the Bears, but ultimately it does not matter because the first offensive option is Colston Loveland. Other than Williams, Loveland seems like the best bet on the team to far outpace his ADP.

The Final Word

Buy the ambition. Stacking this incredibly concentrated, young Chicago passing game isn’t just a fun draft strategy; it is a goldmine.