C.S.S. Q&A: Pro Football Network's David Bearman
The veteran pundit broke down the Chicago Bears' reality and fantasy prospects for 2025.
SPORTS MEDIA, circa 2025, ain’t easy.
Over the last several years, such major outlets as ESPN have gone through multiple rounds of layoffs, as have well-respected platforms like The 33rd Team.
Being that there are so few full-time slots for so many talented sportswriters, most of us have to cobble together a career by contributing content to multiple venues, simultaneously.
One of the venues for whom I’ve been lucky enough to write is Pro Football & Sports Network (PFSN). Good dudes, good material, good vibes.
So it was all but fait accompli that here during Chicago Sports Stuff Interview Week, I’d chop it up with one of my pals from PFSN, that being their Chief Content Officer, David Bearman, with whom I discussed the Bears, the NFL Draft, and how the 2025 season might shape up in Chicago.
Alan Goldsher: Did you like the Bears’ draft?
David Bearman: Our stats and insights department graded the Bears a solid B. It was talked about for them to maybe land an something like an A-, but never anything lower than B.
They hit the offensive side of the ball often, which is what they needed to do. I personally loved the pick of Colston Loveland, who [could be] a phenomenal tight end. I know there were a lot of people who weren't sure whether the best tight end in the draft was Loveland or Tyler Warren. It could’ve gone either way, but I think Loveland is going to be huge for Caleb Williams.
A.G.: Did GM Ryan Poles do a good job of fixing the team’s holes on offense?
D.B.: Yeah, but it's not like the Bears don't [already] have some nice weapons. They have a good running back in D’Andre Swift and good wide receivers in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. But I love the addition of Luther Burton III, who was my second-highest graded wide receiver on the draft, Listen, this was a solid draft for them — they filled the needs they needed to fill in terms of playmaking.
And with Ben Johnson as their head coach, they arguably could have a top offense in 2025. It might surprise people who don't follow the Bears and think all the Bears weren't a good offense last year. Like if you look at the Bears’ weapons, how much different are they than what the Detroit Lions had [in 2024]? Not much.
A.G.: It could even be argued that Caleb Williams will thrive in a Ben Johnson offense as much, if not more than Jared Goff did in Detroit.
D.B.: Yeah, Goff is a solid quarterback, but should you be stunned if Caleb Williams has a better 2025 than Jared Goff? No.
A.G.: Did Chicago do enough for their defense in the draft?
D.B.: When you grade a draft, it's leans heavily towards the first couple of rounds, and early on, the Bears went tight end, then they went wide receiver, then they went offensive tackle, but then they landed Shemar Turner, who fell to 62. The guy is 6’ 3”, 290-pounds, and he's a good defensive tackle who’ll be perfect alongside Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter Sr. So they have solid pieces on defense.
A.G.: The roster turnover is all fine and good, but I think it’s the new coaching staff that will ultimately make the biggest difference.
D.B.: They did blow a lot of games that they should’ve won [in 2024]. No doubt they should have won on Thanksgiving, and that that cost Matt Eberflus his job. So they were better than [you might have thought] last year.
I thought they had the pieces last year; they just didn't have the coach. Now they have the pieces and they got the coach. I like what the Bears have done; I think the only problem is they're in the best division in football.
A.G.: The general consensus is that Caleb Williams is, as they say, set up for success. Is he?
D.B.: Here’s an obvious statement: This is a key season for Caleb Williams.
Last year was his rookie year, and that's a built-in excuse. They also had a lame duck coach, and that’s a real excuse. And maybe he wasn't ready for the NFL game as much as people thought he was when Chicago drafted him.
There was a reason why he was the number one overall pick, though. But is he gonna be better than Jayden Daniels? Who knows? We have another 11 years to figure that out, but I think Caleb can be just as good [as Daniels].
So he is, indeed, set up with the coach that he needs, and he has the talent — that's unquestionable. And it can't be minimized how huge it is for him to have a playmaking tight end like Colston Loveland out there. He’ll be a safety net for a quarterback who just loves to run around and make crap happen. Now instead of running around and making crap happen, Williams can dump it to his huge tight end over the middle and let him make crap happen.
In a Bears offense under a coach who loves the tight end, Caleb Williams could be a much better quarterback.
A.G.: Let's quickly flip over to the defensive side of the ball. It seems like nobody’s talking about how thin they are at linebacker, so the middle of the field could be problematic. Also, we don't know if Jaquan Brisker is over his concussion issues as he claims he is. We could see some track meets.
D.B.: There will be a lot of track meets in the NFC North, because you’ve got good offenses up and down the field. I think the team that steps up the most on defense is going to win this division.
A.G.: Pivoting to fantasy football, give me one Bears fantasy option you want to draft and one Bears fantasy option you want to avoid.
D.B.: There's too much we don’t know yet about Luther Burden III, and D.J. Moore has been hit or miss, and Odunze hasn't shown what he can do yet, so I'm gonna go with Loveland. With Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson, he’s in the perfect situation.
I'm going to avoid the Bears running back game. Is D’Andre Swift good? Yes. Is Roschan Johnson good? Maybe. But there's nobody in the Bears backfield who excites me.
A.G.: Should fantasy owners be concerned about Ben Johnson spreading around the ball?
D.B.: Yes. I don't think you'll find a guy on the Bears who’s gonna go out and get 115 catches or 15 touchdowns. But I think Loveland can be someone who’s a notch above. He can be a player who people are going to be talking about late in the year.
A.G.: Back to reality football. The NFC North is loaded, but exactly how loaded? The Lions have new offensive and defensive coordinators. The Vikings have a new quarterback. And the Packers made some positive tweaks, but I don't necessarily think they're a 12-win team. Still, that’s six tough, ugly games on Chicago’s schedule. Can the Bears survive the division?
D.B.: I think so. The Lions are the still team to beat in the North. Do I think they're going to get 14 wins again? No, I think 14 was their peak. And remember, they were a quarter away from being the five-seed and potentially being eliminated in the first round like the Vikings were.
A.G.: I’m very much on the fence about the Vikings.
D.B.: I don't think they’ll be as good as they were last season, when they had a ridiculously good year from Sam Darnold. But now they have J.J. McCarthy, who’s played much NFL football as I have, so I do see them also taking a step back, maybe nine or ten wins as opposed to 13.
A.G.: And Green Bay?
D.B.: The Packers are going to be the Packers; they’re going to win between ten and 12 games, we know that. But I would still give the division to the Lions at 12 wins, and I would have the Packers right there at 11, then the Bears at ten, and the Vikings at eight or nine.
I can absolutely see all four teams having a winning record, but I think the Bears are a lot closer to the top than they are the bottom.
David Bearman is a 29-year veteran of the sports media industry, having spent 9 years in the Florida Marlins organization in broadcasting and media relations before an 18-year career with ESPN. While at ESPN, David worked in the Stats and Information department, first as a stats researcher and then as a manager and director, before moving to ESPN.com to oversee their sports betting content in 2019.
In 2023, David left ESPN to become Chief Content Officer of Pro Football Sports Network, where he oversaw the day-to-day content of NFL news, betting and fantasy.
David is now overseeing premium products at PFSN, which includes upcoming betting and fantasy newsletters and live events.