New Report Reinforces Idea Bears Are Ready To Gamble On Caleb Williams
Charles Robinson released a report for Yahoo Sports that he’d talked with 13 different general managers about the Chicago Bears quarterback situation. He posed a simple question. Do they keep Justin Fields for another year or start over in the draft? No fewer than 11 of those GMs said start over, and most even mentioned Caleb Williams by name as the player GM Ryan Poles needed to take. This isn’t a surprise. Experts have said for almost two years that the USC quarterback was the unquestioned #1 option going into 2024.
Some are questioning that lately after his somewhat disappointing 2023 season, where they finished 7-5, and Williams had some questionable performances against Notre Dame and Utah. It led to concerns about whether he’d been feasting on bad competition for most of his career. However, a new report by college insiders Antonio Morales and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic shed light on what happened. Based on their findings, there were deep-rooted problems with the entire structure around Williams.
At all levels.
It wasn’t a good omen when, early in training camp, offensive line coach Josh Henson said, “I thought the D-line was more physical than we were.” The offensive line never jelled and was dominated in some of USC’s bigger games against Notre Dame, Oregon and UCLA. The low point was a 3-yard rushing effort against the Bruins in the regular-season finale when the line couldn’t generate consistent push in the run game and struggled to protect Williams.
There were other issues. A receiving unit that was billed as one of the most talented and deepest in the country oddly struggled to get open and make plays. It was clear the group missed the presence of a difference-maker like Jordan Addison.
“(Not having a true No. 1) is part of it, but the bigger thing is when you look at ’em, the route structure, the passing game, the route combinations they try to put together aren’t hard to guard,” the defensive assistant coach said. “They don’t put stress on you that way.”
All of this left far too much pressure on Williams.
Caleb Williams still played great with far less help.
He threw for over 3600 yards, 30 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. He also ran for 11 more touchdowns on the ground. Of the four losses USC played suffered ranked opponents, Williams was directly responsible in only one of them. That was the 3-INT game against the Irish. He hung 32 points on Utah, 42 on Washington, and 27 on Oregon. He couldn’t play defense, too. Based on the information available, people don’t see Williams as close to the primary issue with the Trojans this season. His draft stock remains as strong as ever.
There is a strong likelihood that other NFL teams, including the Bears, are aware of this. They always look at the whole picture when evaluating a prospect. It wouldn’t take Poles long to recognize Caleb Williams did everything he could with the hand he was dealt. This doesn’t guarantee anything. The Bears don’t yet hold the #1 overall pick, and there are still months ahead before the draft. Many things can change in that span. Still, it feels like some of the narratives around Williams won’t have any impact on their evaluation of him at all.