Devin Hester exclusive: Bears HoF great on Caleb Williams, records and Canton

Chicago Bears legend Devin Hester has done things in the NFL that nobody else has, and possibly, never will.

The case rests on nineteen return touchdowns, six clear of the next man on the list, and a bust in Canton that arrived in 2024.

Hester has just completed a tour of the UK, running flag football drills for over 500 schoolchildren as part of the Bears' Flag Football Clinics.

Between sessions, he sat down for a DAZN exclusive to discuss Chicago's outlook in 2026, his Hall of Fame nod, and why his records may never be beaten.

On Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and the Bears

Offensive wizard Ben Johnson took over as the head coach of Chicago in January 2025, and the results were immediate.

They finished 11-6, their best record since 2018, and reached the Divisional Round for the first time since the 2010 campaign.

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Behind that success was an offense that reached new heights, led by second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, with a supporting cast of emerging stars such as Luther Burden, Colston Loveland, and Rome Odunze.

"Ben is a mastermind," Hester said of Johnson. "He finds ways to expose defenses, finds ways to put points on the board.

"And Caleb, the passes he makes are just amazing. That's what the Bears have been looking for the past couple of years."

Hester didn't specify exactly which passes he was referring to, but he didn't need to, with Williams immortalised on the cover of Madden 2027 for one such play.

The Bears rebuilt their offensive line last year and have been busy, if not quite as splashy, in this year's free agency period.

Add those pieces to a strong 2026 draft class headlined by first-round Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, and the Bears' 2026 outlook looks bright.

"The pieces he's brought in, it's looking good. The defense is starting to take shape as well," said Hester.

The last point was particularly telling, considering he played for a Bears team during an era when they boasted one of the best NFL defenses in the last two decades.

On what the Hall of Fame actually means

Hester was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024, becoming the first pure return specialist to be enshrined.

Nick Cammett / Stringer

He was eligible from 2017 and didn't get the call until his sixth year on the ballot, and while he would have every reason to feel aggrieved, he speaks only of the privilege.

"You look back and count how many people are in there," he said.

"To be in that room with less than 400 people, when you look at all the people in the world who ever came through this game? That's a very special honour."

His induction speech went beyond personal reflection: he used it to call out the broader neglect of the return game.

"I'm not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I'm just the first," he said.

It speaks volumes that Hester's still the first to this day.

Hester on why his records will stand

The 19 career return touchdowns sit in a league of their own, with Hester's total of 19 ranking 15 clear of any current active player.

Given the opportunity to talk up his own legacy, Hester instead gave an honest assessment of why the record is likely to stand.

"Throughout any given year, there are maybe 10, 12 return touchdowns across the whole league," he explained.

NFL rule changes, implemented for safety reasons, drove that drop-off, and while there was an uptick in return touchdowns last year, Hester outlined why he'll top the lists for the foreseeable future.

"The fair catch rule is very real now. So I can see that record standing for a while," he said.

While that's a rational take, it's somewhat modest for a man who dominated all others in the same era, when everyone was playing by the same rules.

It's even more modest when you consider he opened Super Bowl XLI with a 92-yard kickoff return, and ranks first and second on the single-season list of most return touchdowns in NFL history, with six in 2007 and five in 2006.

Donald Miralle / Staff

And while stars like Rashid Shaheed are undeniably talented at running it back, the most he achieved in what was seen as a comeback year for returners was three in 2025.

With records nobody is threatening and a bust nobody else has earned on the same terms, Hester's place atop the greatest NFL returners ever isn't going anywhere.