Caleb Williams didn’t want to end up being drafted by Bears
In the months leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, USC standout quarterback Caleb Williams was circled as the expected first-overall pick by the Chicago Bears.
However, as Seth Wickersham, author of “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,” points out in his book, it wasn’t the landing spot he wanted to end up in.
Caleb Williams wondered aloud to confidants: “Do I want to go there? I don’t think I can do it with [former Bears offensive coordinator Shane] Waldron.” (H/T ESPN)
Williams’ father, Carl Williams, took it a step further by stating to his son that “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die.”
Carl went well beyond vocalizing his doubts to his son, as Wickersham wrote that he wanted to give his son the chance to choose where he would play in the NFL.
He was quite concerned that, given the Bears’ lack of history with franchise cornerstone quarterbacks, his son could follow that same path due to lackluster offensive performances under then-head coach Matt Eberflus.
Despite these internal doubts about the Bears, the franchise still elected to take him with the first overall pick. The 2024 season turned into a rocky campaign after the Bears jumped out to a 4-2 record.
Chicago stumbled the rest of the way, losing 10 straight games before winning the season finale on the road against their longtime division rival Green Bay Packers.
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The Bears are optimistic about the 2025 season after an offseason filled with significant changes. Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was hired as the next head coach, and the front office stabilized the offensive line.
Williams sits at the forefront as the key cog in determining the Bears’ fate in 2025.
