Caleb Williams was fantastic last season, at least from the context of Chicago Bears quarterbacks. He finished with 3,941 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He also added 388 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. That makes him the only quarterback in franchise history to amass more than 4,000 total yards and 30 touchdowns. One would think the 24-year-old is happy with how last season went and is eager to produce an encore. Tyson Bagent revealed that it would be a mistaken assumption.
From what he’s seen so far out of Williams since the Bears returned to Halas Hall to begin working towards the 2026 season, the differences are stark. While he still has that easy-going personality, Bagent has noticed a much more focused player. He told David Kaplan that Williams is asserting himself far more as a team leader and has become increasingly intent on learning how to play quarterback the professional way. That means less scrambling and more reading and playing from the pocket.
“The most impressed I’ve been with him is actually the month that we’ve been back in Chicago during OTAs, phase one and phase two. He seems to be just more and more comfortable as the years go on. I see him being a team leader in the building, I see him working hard and really trying to do things the right way….the sky is the limit for what our offense can be.”
This was always the Caleb Williams progression to expect.
Head coach Ben Johnson understood from the beginning what type of quarterback Williams was. He made himself a star in college through a mix of incredible mobility, improvisation, and arm strength. Breaking him of those habits would not be easy. You can’t convince somebody to change who they are as a player overnight, especially when it’s brought them so much success. The smart thing for Johnson to do was to focus on teaching him to play the more traditional way without forcing him to change who he was. That is why you still saw Williams revert to his backyard style a lot last season.
It led to some incredible moments that were crucial to the Bears making the playoffs. However, it also robbed the team of some opportunities because Williams wasn’t willing to hang in the pocket a little longer. This isn’t at all surprising. Learning to play that way takes time, particularly if it was never a big emphasis in college. The key for Williams was teaching him why playing that way is important. Not only would it help lower the number of hits he takes each year, but it also keeps every option open to him offensively.
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Three years was always the goal.
Former quarterbacks have always said it took around three years for them to fully grasp playing the position at the NFL level. Sure, some of them had success earlier than that, but most of it came from a mix of their own talent and a great supporting cast/coaching staff. Go back and watch Patrick Mahomes’ first year as a starter in Kansas City. As brilliant as it was, most of it didn’t come from him slicing and dicing defenses from the pocket. It was him throwing to future Hall of Famers like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill with Andy Reid cooking up tons of easy plays to execute. It wasn’t until around 2020 that you saw him playing quarterback the right way.
This will be Caleb Williams’ third season. He took noticeable steps as a pocket passer last year. The ball came out a little quicker. His decision-making was more decisive, and he got a lot better at pre-snap reads. Now comes the refinement process. With his head no longer swimming from digesting the playbook, he can focus more on his fundamentals, from his eye discipline to his footwork. Bagent can already see into the future. Williams got a taste of the big time last season. Now he wants the whole thing.
