The writing is on the wall at this point. Caleb Williams is all but certain to become the Chicago Bears’ next quarterback when they select him #1 overall on April 25th. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus haven’t said it outright, but the hints are all there. There is no reason for the Bears to be deceptive. Nobody can jump in front of them. They’re free to take any guy they want. Everything said and done over the past three months says Williams has checked every box needed to become the pick.
Most discussions among Bears fans have even switched to what they’ll do with the 9th pick. Williams is the guy. It appears as if the team is even using his private visit next month less to get to know him and more to get him up to speed on their new offense under Shane Waldron. There is no sense in wasting time, right? The hype continues to build around Williams. Many see him as one of the best QB prospects to come out of college in the past three decades, rivaling Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. Adam Schein of NFL.com buys into it fully, believing Williams is that dude.
Not only that, but he also thinks the roster the Bears have built will help the rookie break records.
“Caleb Williams isn’t just a solid prospect — he’s sensational. Dreamy. He’s the kind of quarterback Bears fans have been waiting on for a lifetime or longer, since the days of Sid Luckman. I interviewed him after he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 with a college football season for the ages at USC (4,537 passing yards, 42 passing TDs, five picks, 10 rushing TDs), and his smarts, humility, team-oriented nature and leadership skills poured through.
Was his 2023 as stunningly successful as his 2022? No — but he was still fantastic, throwing 30 TD passes against five picks (plus scoring 11 times on the ground), doing his best to compensate for an awful Trojans defense. Watching Poles, Eberflus and Allen (I love that the receiver showed up!) at Williams’ pro day, it was all too easy to envision Williams embarking on a C.J. Stroud-like run of rookie genius for Chicago. (In a juicy twist, Stroud’s Texans will face the Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game this August.)
In fact, as I’ve written before, I think Williams is one of the best QB prospects of the past 25 years — and I think he’s going to have the greatest rookie season ever by a No. 1 pick at quarterback.”
Caleb Williams has a high ceiling to reach.
Many will debate who had the best rookie season by a quarterback, but if we’re going by the numbers, that honor belongs to Justin Herbert. The Los Angeles Chargers star lit up the stat sheets right out of the gate in 2020 with 4,331 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Just for good measure, he also added 234 rushing yards and five touchdowns. It remains baffling how the Chargers only went 7-9 that year, another reminder of how they manage to keep squandering elite quarterback play.
If Caleb Williams somehow managed to pull off a season like this, it would not only break rookie records but also be the greatest passing season in Bears history by miles. Remember, no QB in this franchise has ever cracked 4,000 yards or 30 touchdowns passing. It remains a stain on the organization’s name in an age where both feats aren’t nearly as difficult as they used to be. There is no question Williams has the talent to achieve this, and he’ll have a loaded roster to help him, unlike in previous years.
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