It’s obvious the Bears will, but they really should not. The Chicago Bears have the 1st overall pick in the draft once again and the clear-cut choice is USC’s Caleb Williams…but he should not be their guy to lead the franchise.
I just have a really bad feeling about Williams.
Despite having all the talent and potential in the world, Caleb Williams, who is the presumptive frontrunner to be the 1st overall pick, SHOULD NOT be the first name taken off the draft board by the Chicago Bears come draft day. And my hesitation is really just down to all of the chatter and talk around Williams.
So, I usually don’t like to make articles like this against inexperienced, unproven college players as it’s usually not fair to categorize a player’s potential before they even play a down in the NFL. But there’s always a few exceptions to this rule…such as a player like Johnny Manziel.
I think it was pretty clear that Johnny Manziel, given all of his off-field antics, controversies, and clear lack of true dedication to football, was going to be an underachieving prospect at the very least come his draft day in 2014. I mean, an All-America, SEC Player of the Year, and 2012 Heisman Winner would not have fallen to the 22nd selection if every team was sold on his dedication and professionalism.
But that’s beside the point for Johnny Manziel’s height, arm strength, and play style adaptability were also in question that caused his precipitous drop in the draft order. Caleb Williams does not have ANY of those issues.
Not only is Caleb Williams 6’1″ and 218 lbs., but his game can MORE than translate into the NFL for he has the arm strength, size, mobility, pocket presence, and passing precision to rival a good amount of starting QBs in the NFL right now!
Oh, and Williams has also won a Heisman (2022), a conference Player of the Year award (PAC-12), and has been named an All-American, while his passing stats dwarf anything Manziel was able to produce as he has racked up 10,082 passing yards, 93 touchdowns, just 14 interceptions, a 66.9% completion percentage, a 6.6-1 TD-INT ratio, 966 rushing yards, and 27 rushing touchdowns in three seasons for USC and Oklahoma.
But that’s not where I have an issue with Williams. No, if Williams was coming out of college with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Patrick Mahomes’ temperament, I’d take him 1st overall in a heartbeat. He’s not. He’s already becoming the biggest diva quarterback in the NFL.
Whether it’s reports that Williams doesn’t want to play in Chicago (which are not true according to Williams), constantly comparing himself and proclaiming his greatness above current NFL QBs (like Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes), crying to his mother in the stands after losing to Notre Dame, painting “F Utah” on his fingernails, refusing to partake in medical exams at the NFL Draft Combine due to claiming “Not 32 teams can draft me. There’s only one of me.”, wanting an ownership stake in his contract of the team that drafts him, not partaking in any of the throwing combines at the NFL or USC showcases, and just being rather obnoxious at the combine itself, Williams just strikes me as EXTREMELY immature.
Now, not all of these antics I listed are instant red flags on the guy or reasons he shouldn’t go 1st overall but putting them all together does make him seem a little too immature to lead one of the 32 NFL franchises as a Day One starter.
He just seems to be more concerned about his fame and the attention around his name, rather than the attention that should come from his stellar play on the field. And, speaking of his on-field play, that saw a very big dip last season as even though he lost pieces to the draft and USC as a whole declined, Williams threw for nearly 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns LESS than he did in 2022.
Plus, the Trojans didn’t even rank in the Top-25 nationally last season with an 8-5 record after finishing the 2022-23 season as the 12th best team in the nation with a 11-3 record. Only Drake Maye (NC) didn’t finish with a team in the Top-25 nationally among the Top-6 QB prospects…though he’s also seen as the 2nd best QB in the draft.
Take that information however you wish.
Regardless, I really do think the Bears might be better off keeping Justin Fields for a season, trading down and drafting another great player for their O-Line or skill positions, and draft a QB in another class or with a later pick (such as Spencer Rattler in the 2nd round). There’s always going to be QBs capable of winning division titles and Super Bowls coming through the ranks, and the key is to be able to remove the fog of war from the collegiate level to the NFL and take them.
Just look at Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes. None of them were 1st overall, “MUST HAVE OR YOUR FRANCHISE IS DOOMED” prospects like Williams is shaping up to be, ye they all have reached the Super Bowl (and won in Rodgers, Brady, and Mahomes’ cases) and have finished Top-5 in the MVP conversation (and won in Rodgers, Brady, and Mahomes’ cases).
So, wrapping this up, Williams is just too much of an unknown quantity for me to take him 1st overall and give him the keys to the franchise if I was in charge of the Bears.
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