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The Chicago Bears and their fans have many reasons for optimism– even in the face of recent oddsmakers predictions of a not-much-improved record over last season.
Chief among those reasons for optimism is the likely arrival of USC blue-chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams, who many experts see as a true elite-level franchise quarterback.
Chicago Bears Entering The Caleb Williams Era
Adam Schein, Contributing Columnist for NFL.com, is one of those analysts enamored with what the talented 22-year-old brings to Chicago. He envisions the young man leading the Bears into a successful Cinderella season this year.
Per Schein:
“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 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.
…It’s amazing to see how much progress Poles has made following the disastrous 2022 trade for receiver Chase Claypool. Claypool flamed out, but Poles has mostly pulled the right levers since. He and Eberflus have this organization ready to take a step forward — and Caleb Williams is about to change everything.”
That’s certainly a shout-from-the-mountaintop endorsement of the probable Bears first-round draft pick.
Schein is, most definitely, not the only one who thinks so highly of Williams.
Caleb Compared to Greatness
Matt Miller, NFL draft analyst for ESPN, not too long ago made the comparison between Williams and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, in areas of skill, ability, and mindset.
Miller would go on to say this about Williams:
“The top overall player in the 2024 draft class, Williams combines excellent arm strength, mobility and field vision with a knack for making creative plays when defenses close in on the pocket. At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, he is responsible for 93 touchdowns over the past two seasons at USC (72 passing, 21 rushing).
…[His] NFL-style playmaking and jaw-dropping passing ability has scouts calling him a rare prospect. What he’s able to do on second-effort plays is impressive, and Williams would have been my top-rated quarterback in each of the past five draft classes.”
Bears Breaking a (Losing) Cycle
Bears general manager Ryan Poles seems to be well aware of the franchise-altering ability Williams could bring to the team.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show this past Tuesday,” Poles talked about his ultimate goal as the man behind the roster moves in Chicago.
“We were hired to break a cycle,” Poles said. “The same thing when I was in Kansas City, Coach Reid and all of us were brought there to break a cycle, and we did…I really believe we’re about to break this cycle and get this city in a really good situation and win a lot of games.”
As the old saying goes– from your lips to God’s ears, GM Poles.
But if Caleb Williams is anywhere near as good as wise football people say he is, then Bears fans have a lot to look forward to.
More must-reads:
- Winners and losers from Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft
- Four players on the hot seat because of team's recent draft selections
- The '100 catches in an NFL season' quiz
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