The Chicago Bears are ready to pick a quarterback Caleb Williams as the top overall choice, but he has one potentially fatal flaw, despite being very good.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network talked to various scouts and executives about the top 20 QB prospects in the 2024 draft class and shared their assessments on Friday, April 19. Most of the comments on Williams were highly favorable, but two problems with his game kept coming up — his height and his tendency to play heroically.
While the latter can be troublesome, an AFC executive told Pelissero that it's the former that is the biggest concern about Williams as he enters the NFL. Bryce Young, last year’s No. 1 overall pick of the Carolina Panthers, had the same issue, which affected him during his first year in the league. However, that might not be the case for Williams due to his other physical attributes.
“The only thing you really don’t like, just strictly on the player, is the height,” the executive told Pelissero. “He is reckless. He does some crazy stuff. But at the same time, he creates a lot of big plays. I think you’re just gonna have to live with a little bit of that. A lot of arm talent. He’s shorter. He’s built different from Bryce was, he’s got more thickness to himself. Real confident and instinctive, and you can feel that on tape.”
Bears Can Offer Caleb Williams Better Supporting Cast Than Panthers Provided Bryce Young in Rookie Year
GettyCarolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
Interestingly, the Panthers gave away the store in a trade with the Bears to move up for Young, including a first-round selection that became the No. 1 selection in 2024, which will allow Chicago to draft Williams next week if it so chooses.
Young’s height and slightness of build weren’t the only issues he faced during his rookie campaign. Carolina also saddled him with a lacking roster, which has led to major changes at the top of that organization.
All that said, Young was able to muster just 2,877 passing yards, 11 TDs and 10 INTs across 16 starts (2-14), as the Panthers threw him immediately to the wolves around the league. Williams is likely to start from Week 1 in Chicago if he lands there, though the circumstances there are exceedingly different.
The Bears have amassed a trio of quality pass-catchers in DJ Moore, who they also acquired from the Panthers in that now fateful trade ahead of the 2023 draft, along with Pro Bowl wideout Keenan Allen and tight end Cole Kmet. Chicago added Pro Bowl running back D’Andre Swift in free agency and have the Nos. 9, 75 and 122 to add to a roster that produced a playoff-level defense down the stretch of last season.
Caleb Williams Makes Up for Hero Ball With ‘Rare’ Plays
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams, formerly of USC.
While Williams can’t do anything to make himself taller, he can make different decisions mid-play and cut down on his hero ball antics. The cast of talent around him should make that change all the easier for Williams.
However, the Bears won’t want to stifle all the instinctive qualities and creativity that make Williams special — much in the same way those qualities make Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes special. And Williams can make up for whatever mistakes he does make, and then some, by making what one NFC scout told Pelissero were “rare” plays.
“He tries to be a hero all the time, but he does some rare, rare stuff in terms of arm talent and just flicking the ball,” the scout said. “He can do it all. He’s obviously really athletic, explosive, productive. He’s got [9 3/4-inch] hands. The ball comes off his hand easily. He throws from extreme arm angles. He just plays around too much. … But he’s such a natural football player with everything that I don’t see that being a hiccup at all.”
