The final decision won’t be made until the Chicago Bears are on the clock in April. However, it sounds more and more likely that they have their sights set on Caleb Williams with the #1 pick. Every national insider has hinted at this for almost a month. It is incredible to think they’ve reached such a conclusion so quickly. Draft experts believe this 2024 class is strong at quarterback. One would think Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and even J.J. McCarthy would be in the race longer than a few weeks after the end of the season.
Maybe there is a chance things still change. Prospect interviews are still to come at the scouting combine and private visits. Everything can look great on tape until you meet the person. However, the Bears don’t seem overly concerned about that. It’s almost a formality from the sound of things. How is that possible? A source reached out to SM with an answer.
GM Ryan Poles and the team already loved Williams from watching him since he was a freshman at Oklahoma. There weren’t many concerns on that front. Their efforts in recent weeks were about gathering information on what he is like as a leader, teammate, and person. The decisive moment came during their meeting with former USC quarterbacks coach Kliff Kingsbury and head coach Lincoln Riley during a trip to Los Angeles.
Both men spoke in great detail about Williams, offering info on the type of worker and competitor he is. It was an eye-opening conversation that eased what few fears the Bears had left about the young QB.
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The Caleb Williams research isn’t over yet.
Poles isn’t one to let personal bias blind him to the process. Coaches are prone to talking up their players all the time. What Kingsbury and Riley said was helpful, but the Bears’ general manager still needs to verify it. That will come over the next month when he meets Williams in person. Chicago will put him through the paces. They’ll work him out, testing his physical limits as a passer. They will grill him on the whiteboard, determining how sharp he is at absorbing and delivering information. Lastly, they will ask questions intent on whether he is more about the team or himself.
Everybody knows this is the most important decision the franchise has had in maybe a decade. The Bears have never taken a quarterback #1 overall in their long history. Caleb Williams may end up being the first. That will carry a ton of pressure and expectations. Poles said his goal was to find somebody mentally tough enough to handle playing in a place like Chicago. It takes fortitude many guys don’t have. Williams’ coaches think he has it. One can only hope they’re right.
If the Bears trade Fields before the draft, Washington knows the Bears want a QB. If the Bears offer Washington a trade to get #1, Washington would know the Bears don’t want Williams but DO want some other top QB.
Why would Washington even make a trade when they know this? The only thing they would have to fear is if the Bears trade with NE I’m thinking.
That or if Washington wants a different QB.
If Poles had a hand in the drafting of Mahomes, and he sticks with his “profile” of what a positional player must have to fit his team structure, I feel pretty good with whatever he does with the draft. He’s made solid decisions with the rebuild. He “ripped” the bandage off when he got here, gutting the team of big contracts and stocking the team with some quality players in keeping with his blueprint to rebuild the Bears. Poles rightly deserves the chance to pick “his” guy to go to battle with at QB, instead of someone he inherited. Who… Read more »
I do not want CW. I hope that if Poles absolutely feels he has take a QB, he trades with Washington and takes Drake Maye at number 2. Not that he’s a sure thing, either.
But if Poles does take CW, it is really a boom or bust pick. If CW really is Mahomes, and plays like it, then Poles is a genius and should get extended immediately. But if he’s not…
Kevin Warren has lots of NFL connections.
This is just a reminder that Caleb Williams doesn’t have an agent and reportedly has no plans to retain one. If you thought egos and outsized expectations got in the way of the Roquan Smith negotiations, then get ready, because dealing with Caleb will be a hundred times dumber.
I like the fact that CW was breaking down offenses and working with Baldinger at 17 years old. You didn’t hear that about Manziel or Fields, or a lot of these younger players. Some don’t want to learn the scheme, and just want to drop back and wing it on gameday. Relying on instincts and athletic ability instead of staying in framework of the scripted play. Kyler Murray is a good example. I’ve said it before, I like players with chips on their shoulders. Brady, Jordan, Mahomes, Rice, Curry. Some are self motivated that way. I do have a good… Read more »