Scheme Changes That Will Impact Fantasy Football: Ben Johnson

From Ben Johnson's arrival in Chicago to Kellen Moore's departure from Philadelphia, this series will examine how coaching and scheme changes will impact fantasy football in 2025 and beyond.

In the NFL, talent can only get a team so far. Some of the best-constructed rosters have faltered due to poor coaching, simplistic offensive schemes, and a failure to utilize personnel appropriately. Fantasy managers feel those failures, with disappointing draft picks anchoring a team to the floor of their league. Similarly, early recognition is critical (just ask the American Red Cross… CPR-trained folks will appreciate this — I’m sorry to everyone else). Fantasy managers who identify how coaching changes will impact fantasy upside early are most prepared to capitalize on value.

This offseason saw several coaching changes, with over a third of the league having some fallout. Let’s examine how these changes will impact your fantasy rosters. First up, Ben Johnson’s arrival in the Windy City.

Ben Johnson ▶ Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

Johnson’s departure from Detroit is twofold. He’s arguably the best offensive designer in the NFL despite being the third-youngest head coach, and the production he extracted from Jared Goff during his time in Detroit was as impressive as anything in the NFL over the past few years. The impact he’ll have on the Chicago offense shouldn’t be understated. Caleb Williams will go from an unreasonable amount of scheme rigidity under Shane Waldron and Thomas Brown, something that severely hampered his effectiveness as an off-structure creator, to the most adaptable and multiple scheme in football. A mistake many fantasy managers make is expecting a one-for-one replica when a coach transitions from one team to the next; the most effective coaches let their personnel dictate the scheme, not vice versa. Still, the offensive improvement, at least from a productivity perspective, should be stark. Johnson took the job because of Williams’ talent, and his off-structure ability is a significant component of what makes him special. His ability to run the football also far exceeds Goff’s, allowing Johnson to expand upon his already diverse offensive scheme.

From a talent perspective, the Lions had an advantage over the 2024 Bears, especially at running back. A solid veteran quarterback in his third year in an offense will almost always perform more efficiently than a rookie quarterback, no matter the talent level. Still, the Bears had enough to be significantly better than they performed, and Johnson’s arrival should help get them there. While the table above shows plenty of critical offensive metrics, nothing stands out more than the pace of play. During Johnson’s three years in Detroit, the Lions ranked third in plays per game, sixth in time of possession percentage, and first in points per game. They controlled games with long, sustained drives full of unpredictability and efficiency. It’s easy to argue that Johnson’s famous trickery wouldn’t be possible without that reality. Defenses were constantly on their heels from the start, so the Johnson’s homerun swings often connected. Some of those components should remain constant in Chicago. The Bears invested heavily in the offensive line this offseason, focusing on guys who can move the line of scrimmage and get upfield. All three new starters, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, and Joe Thuney, have experience in a multiple scheme, though all put their best work on film when running zone concepts. They’re all significant upgrades from what the Bears deployed in 2024, with regular missed assignments, miscommunications, and incompetence being regular occurrences for the interior offensive line group. Johnson needs a strong offensive line to remain multiple, as his multiplicity makes him special. Williams needs a strong offensive line to give him time to make magic happen. Johnson and the young quarterback are a match made in heaven, and it should result in happy fantasy managers… kind of.

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