The Chicago Bears are about to reap the benefits of what could very well go down as the greatest trade in team history; one which many experts are saying might be “franchise-altering” because of who’s available to be acquired in this upcoming draft.
Last year, the Chicago Bears traded away their first-overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a package of talent that included wide receiver DJ Moore, the Panthers’ 2023 first- and second-round picks, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick.
That deal lines them up to select USC blue-chip quarterback prospect Caleb Williams this year. And, if the experts are right, that addition could entirely change the fortune of a team that has struggled to find success for nearly an entire generation of fandom.
Chicago Bears Set for “Franchise-Altering” Addition?
“He’s special and whoever gets him will have a franchise-altering type of talent,” an unnamed NFC scout is quoted as saying about Williams in a recent ESPN piece.
In that same article, NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid goes on to explain why he believes the 22-year-old is a special talent:
“Williams had ups and downs over the course of his junior season but still showcased No. 1-pick-caliber traits. His arm strength, accuracy and improvisational skills have him sitting atop the quarterback rankings and scouts see him as one of the best QB prospects of the past decade. What makes him so special? He always has an answer, no matter the defensive structure presented to him.”
Even Reid’s “Where he needs work” part of the analysis is really more of a back-handed “he’s too good for his own good” observation:
“His reliance on big plays and his ability to play outside of structure can be a gift — and a curse. His success with those passes outside of structure often leads to him welcoming avoidable pressure, as he passes up options available early in progressions in favor of the bigger play. There are plenty of times on tape when Williams could have gotten the ball out quicker, but because he knows he can put on his Superman cape, he instead holds onto it longer than necessary.”
Reid and the unnamed scout sourced in his article are by far the only ones who have gushed on the unlimited potential of Williams.
Adam Schein, Contributing Columnist for NFL.com, recently referred to the young prospect as “dreamy” and “the kind of quarterback Bears fans have been waiting on for a lifetime or longer, since the days of Sid Luckman.” He’d also go on to insist that Williams “is about to change everything” for the team’s fortunes.
Media experts and analysts have actually been raving for years about the talented signal caller.
More Caleb Williams Praise
ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller compiled some of the gushing praise in an article dated back to October of 2023, beating the drums about the kid’s greatness and predicting his guaranteed no. 1 pick draft status.
In that article, one AFC scout was quoted as saying that Williams was “one of the best football players, flat-out, I’ve ever scouted.”
An unnamed NFL general manager said that Williams had “the most [positive traits] of any quarterback I’ve seen” and that “He’s perfect for today’s game.”
Another unnamed NFL general manager called him a “game-changer” for any team that drafts him.
Scouts have also compared him to a young Aaron Rodgers, in terms of style and temperament, and as someone whose physical talents were on par with Patrick Mahomes.
Time will tell what the Chicago Bears have in mind for this draft, but all signs and off-season maneuverings point to them selecting Caleb Williams with their overall no. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
If so, the words of an AFC scout quoted in the above-mentioned 2023 Matt Miller piece will prove to be prophetic:
“I’d be trying to lose as many games as possible to land this dude — and I’d trade [Justin] Fields the day the league year opened for a fourth-round pick and say sorry it didn’t work out.”