The Chicago Bears haven’t been able to say they had the best quarterback in the NFL since before World War II. That was when Sid Luckman strapped that facemask-less helmet and went to work every Sunday. Nobody since he retired has come remotely close to that status. In fact, only two players have made it to a Pro Bowl in the Super Bowl era, and none have received even a single MVP vote. So you can understand why plenty are skeptical that Caleb Williams will be any different. Bears quarterbacks don’t earn such honors.

Except the perception might be changing. Williams accomplished several firsts last season in Chicago. He’s the first to crack 3900 yards passing, posted the most TDs ever in a season by a Bears player with 31, led a franchise-best seven 4th quarter comebacks, and beat Green Bay in the playoffs. Future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Gerald McCoy sees big things on the horizon. The NFL better hope Williams doesn’t learn how to play small ball. If he does, there will be no stopping him.

“Caleb is immensely talented,” McCoy said. “He’s almost overly-talented, what he can do throwing a football and what he can do with his legs. As soon as he gets to the point where he can relax and learn how to simplify the game, Caleb Williams will be the best quarterback in the NFL. Yes, I just said it. He’s that talented.”

Caleb Williams is a demon when stacking completions.

The NFL’s completion percentage bar is typically around 67%. If you’re at or above that mark, you’re playing good football. Across his first two seasons, Williams has done it eight times. In those eight games, he was almost perfect.

This is what McCoy was talking about. Getting a player with Williams’ mobility to play like a classic pocket quarterback makes a devastating weapon. It means he can be that traditional guy if necessary, but if defenses choose to attack more aggressively, he has the trump card in his back pocket to scramble out of trouble. We’ve seen the formula work many times.

• Fran Tarkenton
• Roger Staubach
• Steve Young
• Russell Wilson
• Patrick Mahomes

All are or soon will be in the Hall of Fame. Four of them have rings. The other was in three Super Bowls. That is what awaits Williams if he learns the same lessons they did.

The young man has earned the benefit of the doubt.

It isn’t like Caleb Williams has slogged through two seasons of below-average play. His 7,483 yards and 47 touchdowns are the best totals over back-to-back years any Bears quarterback has ever had. He did this despite serious continuity (and competency) issues with the coaching staff. One would think he’d have a little credibility by this point. Alas, the Bears’ ugly reputation, along with his status as a former #1 overall pick, has elevated expectations to such a degree that even minor flaws are magnified.

Yet that hasn’t stopped current and former players, many of them highly credible like McCoy, from insisting that Williams has the goods. All that is required from fans is patience. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, especially in this league. It almost always comes in stages. You go from okay to good, from good to great, and some might clear the final hurdle, going from great to the best. Bears fans never in a million years believed they’d have a quarterback capable of holding that title. Williams is the closest they’ve ever been.

Luther Burden arrived last season as a 2nd round pick of the Chicago Bears. This wasn’t a player who had any sort of connection to the team’s century-long rivalry against the Green Bay Packers. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and spent his entire childhood and young adult life there. It was all about SEC football. Hatred of Alabama and the like. It would probably take him a year or two before he truly grasped how deep-seated the hatred is between these two NFL mainstays.

Don’t ever say Burden is a slow learner. December 7th of last year marked his first experience of the rivalry when the Bears went up to Lambeau Field. In a physical game before a raucous crowd, the two teams traded shots. Green Bay took an early 14-3 lead before Chicago stormed back. In the midst of all that, Burden drew the attention of the cameras when he choked Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon. This occurred after the wide receiver got into a heated exchange with Nixon’s teammate, Corey Ballentine.

Ever since then, Luther Burden has delighted in trolling the Packers

While the incident drew criticism for the rookie, Bears fans loved it. They wanted players who wouldn’t take any crap from Green Bay. Burden, to his credit, leaned into it. A month later, when the two teams met for the wild card round of the playoffs, the wide receiver used the choking gesture as a celebration after a 1st down. This was not somebody with any regrets about what they did. It certainly didn’t make Packers fans feel better when the Bears overcame a 21-3 deficit to win the game.

Now Luther Burden is up to his shenanigans again. The season hasn’t even started yet, and he is already setting the tone for the upcoming season. Recently, news broke that future Hall of Fame basketball star LeBron James would be departing the Los Angeles Lakers for a new team this upcoming 2026-2027 season. The Packers’ social media team decided to take advantage of the buzz with a post about his free agency. Burden wasn’t about to let that fly without a small reminder of what’s coming.

Burden is eager to pick up where he left off.

He never really got the chance to be a focal point in the Bears offense last season. That honor was often held by Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, or D.J. Moore. That didn’t stop him from being productive against the Packers. In two meetings, he was targeted 13 times, making seven catches for 109 yards. With Moore out of the picture, it sounds like head coach Ben Johnson plans to funnel more opportunities to Burden. He is more than ready for it. This is what he’s been working towards for years.

It sure seems like he plans to save his best for Green Bay. The first meeting will be on October 11th at Lambeau Field. One can probably assume he has a certain celebration in mind if he makes a big play during that contest. His embrace of the rivalry is a breath of fresh air after many years of Bears receivers going through the motions of treating it as “just another game.”

Caleb Williams almost had a perfect second season for the Chicago Bears in 2025. He threw for a franchise-best 3,941 yards, along with 27 touchdowns, while adding another three on the ground. He is only the third quarterback to cross 30 TDs in a season in team history. His seven 4th quarter comebacks are another franchise-best, and he’s now only the second quarterback to ever beat the rival Green Bay Packers in a playoff game. The first since Sid Luckman in 1941. One would think fans would be ecstatic.

They are, to be fair. However, some of them just cannot get over one specific issue about Williams’ season. For all the heroics and magical plays, he finished with a 58.1 completion percentage. That was the worst of any starting quarterback in the NFL last year. It demonstrates a lack of efficiency, which people constantly hold against Williams. Until he gets that fixed, he’ll never be an elite quarterback. He was asked about it during an interview on Pardon My Take. Williams promised the problem would be fixed this coming season. However, it might be for different reasons than simply because he should.

“Obviously, I want to get that up, get the completion percentage up. Some of the things that I do on the field, it negatively impacts that. But we’ll get it up just to shut everybody up and help them understand. . . . We’ll get it up, we’ll make everybody’s heart feel warm and lovely, and it’ll also help us in the long run of winning games and starting games better, starting games faster, doing all those things.”

Caleb Williams will fix it out of spite.

It is pretty evident that the Bears’ quarterback is tired of hearing about the completion percentage. Part of it stems from the unceasing mention of it. However, there is another layer involved. It is also because he feels it’s a little unfair. Too many people just look at the stat and don’t bother to mention the context. Williams alluded to one part of it during that same interview.

“I throw the ball away the most to try and keep us in advantageous positions because I know Coach will go for it on 4th down.”

In this, he is correct. Williams led the NFL last season in throwaways with 40. For those who don’t know, a throwaway is an instance in which the quarterback intentionally throws the ball out of bounds or into the dirt to avoid taking a sack or turning it over. This is done with the intent of preserving the down and distance and allowing another opportunity to convert in reasonable yardage.

The other part that people keep ignoring is the types of throws Williams was attempting. Last season, the Bears quarterback ranked 2nd in the NFL in passing attempts of 20 yards or more with 94. Such aggressiveness leads to more big plays, but it’s also harder to maintain a high completion percentage. Matthew Stafford, who ranked #1 in that category, finished with just 63.4% of his passes completed. That is below league average, yet he was the MVP.

Williams is right to be tired of the discussion.

Yes, he does need to improve the completions. That isn’t something he’s arguing. What he’s asking for is not such a big deal to be made out of it. The Bears won 11 games last year with him playing the way he did. Yet some keep treating it as if he had a terrible season. Would they prefer he risk more interceptions and sacks by not throwing the ball away and trying to force it more to his receivers? Would they prefer he take more checkdowns just to make sure the completion percentage goes up, even if it costs big play opportunities?

None of this even mentions that Chicago was 4th in dropped passes last year, with 29. Again, context is always important. It would be one thing if Caleb Williams were just sailing the ball constantly on almost half of his throws every week. That was not the case. Multiple factors worked against him that weren’t always within his control. Yet here he is, continuing to hear about it. No wonder he’s annoyed. One can imagine he’ll be using all of this as motivation, less to improve the stat and more to shut people up.

The Chicago Bears didn’t make any blockbuster trades this offseason. They didn’t really have the resources to do so. General manager Ryan Poles opted for a more calculated approach, using the resources available to get the best players possible. All things considered, he did pretty well. The team plugged some holes in free agency and added another influx of talented athletes in the draft. Still, some wonder if the Bears still need that bold move to push them into proper contender territory. Enter Jonathan Taylor.

Nobody disputes that the 26-year-old running back is arguably the best in football. He has posted at least 1400 yards on the ground in three of the past five seasons, including 1,585 and 18 touchdowns last year. However, some wonder if the Indianapolis Colts, who are teetering on the edge of a possible rebuild, may not want to pay him another big contract with so much mileage on his body. Benjamin Solak of ESPN believes this could land the Pro Bowler on the trade block, and the Bears are the perfect landing spot.

Jonathan Taylor will get traded to the Bears

If the Colts come out of the gates slow and consider an organizational change midseason, then Taylor surely would draw trade interest. His start to 2025 proved he still has “best RB in the league” potential left in his legs, especially if his total touches are more carefully managed. A playoff-aspiring team that has viable change-of-pace backs but no dominant starter would love to grab Taylor for a one-year rental. Should he perform well, that team could give him that two-year, pay-as-we-go extension that running backs often get with their third contract.

The Bears make perfect sense…If the Bears’ offense coalesces into a top-five unit — certainly possible given how they finished the 2025 season — the team might be fishing at the deadline for a field-tipping running back to give it an additional edge. Chicago’s rushing attack led the league in success rate last season, thanks in large part to great line play and excellent scheming from coach Ben Johnson. Now imagine that group with a home run hitter like Taylor breaking into the second level.

Why this trade makes the Bears Super Bowl contenders

Many will argue that the team already had the #3 rushing attack last season with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Both have returned for this coming season. There is no need to trade for Taylor when they have other pressing roster issues like edge rusher. Here’s the thing. Swift and Monangai are not Taylor. We’re talking about a true difference-making, superstar running back. If Ben Johnson could accomplish what he did last season with good-not-great players like Swift and Monangai, imagine what Taylor would do in that system.

Johnson’s run scheme is widely regarded as the best in the NFL. It’s diverse, adaptable, and perfectly caters to its players’ strengths. Imagine what Caleb Williams would do to defenses off play action fakes and bootlegs. It would be unfair. Let’s also remember a reality people glossed over from last season. The Bears’ running backs did not perform well in the playoffs. Monangai averaged just 3.0 yards per carry. Outside of two runs of 12 and 13 yards against the Rams, Swift was held in check in the divisional round.

Taylor would give them an extra gear they didn’t have before.

What would the cost be?

This is difficult to determine because running backs aren’t considered a premium position these days. Typically, they go for a couple of mid-round picks (4th/5th/6th) in any deal. However, Jonathan Taylor is undoubtedly one of the two or three best in the game. If he’s still playing at that usual level by the deadline, it will cost more. Remember, the San Francisco 49ers gave up 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks, along with a future 5th round pick, for Christian McCaffrey. One can safely assume that will be the type of package the Colts will want.

However, there is a vital difference here. McCaffrey still had three-and-a-half years left on his contract at the time. San Francisco inherited a considerable amount of control. Taylor has one year left on his deal. He’ll need a considerable extension once the Bears acquire him. That will lower the price tag in any trade. I ran this idea through Sports Mockery’s state-of-the-art trade simulator on EDGE. Here is the projected cost.

• 2nd round pick in 2027
• 5th round pick in 2028
• CB Tyrique Stevenson

Indianapolis gets strong draft capital over the next two years and a young cornerback with a cheap year left on his contract. The Colts’ pass defense was 31st last season. Sauce Gardner, their prized trade acquisition at last year’s deadline, played just four games before being sidelined for the season with an injury. Stevenson gives them some much-needed depth, youth, and competition at that spot.