The Bears second year quarterback has everything he needs to take a huge step this season.
We’ve reached the number one spot on our top ten Chicago Bears with the most to prove. We’ve been counting it down over the last few weeks, and we’ve finally reached the final article in the series. If you’ve missed the countdown thus far, let’s get you up to speed:
10. Roschon Johnson
9. Jaquan Brisker
8. Gervon Dexter
7. Cole Kmet
6. Tremaine Edmunds
5. Left Tackle (Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie, Ozzy Trapilo)
4. Montez Sweat
3. Tyrique Stevenson
2. DJ Moore
If you missed any of the previous articles, you can check them out on the story stream here.
But we’ve reached number one. Our top spot is none other than Caleb Williams.
Some of you might consider it odd that Williams is not only on the list but reaches the top spot. Well, first of all, Williams was on this list last year simply from his number one overall pick status, although he didn’t have the top spot; that spot belonged to Matt Eberflus.
Williams returns to the list this year and climbed up to the top spot, and the reason for that? There’s no excuse.
You can be Caleb Williams’ number one fan, it doesn’t matter, everybody knows that Williams has to be better in 2025.
I was arguably Caleb Williams’ biggest cheerleader heading into the 2024 offseason. Nobody ever questioned what side I was on during the Williams-Fields Civil War.
And while some of what Caleb Williams accomplished in 2024 was impressive, his performance was not good enough. I think Caleb would also be the first person to tell you that as well.
Williams had some impressive stats as a rookie. He shattered the Bears’ rookie record for passing yards and passing touchdowns. He also threw for the fifth-most yards in a single season in Bears history and the 12th highest passing touchdown total in team history as well.
To be fair, part of Williams’ impressive placement in Bears’ history is due to the woeful history of quarterback play the team has had over the past 75 years. But regardless, Williams’ numbers still look pretty solid.
Williams was 17th in the league last year in passing yards and 15th in passing touchdowns. Williams also threw only six interceptions. Of qualifying quarterbacks, only Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts threw fewer interceptions than Williams.
So why wasn’t Williams’ performance good enough? Because his advanced stats were poor. How efficient was he with the football? He wasn’t. He took 68 sacks, which led the league (and was nearly a league record) and was 16 more than second place (CJ Stroud).
Beyond the sacks, he was 21st out of 22 quarterbacks in yards per attempt at 6.3, his EPA/Play was at the bottom of the league as well. In short, Caleb Williams threw the 7th most passes in the NFL, and it was that aspect that got him the higher volume stats.
Now he absolutely gets credit for the low turnover numbers, but Williams must do significantly more with the ball per attempt to make the significant strides we all hope for this season.
Of course, we aren’t discounting the coaching around Caleb Williams in 2024. That played a huge part in some of the problems he faced. He had three offensive coordinators throughout his rookie season, two head coaches, poor play designs, and some strange play calls.
Beyond the coaching issues, Williams also had players quitting around him and a mediocre offensive line, if we are being very generous.
The excuses for Caleb Williams are over (even if they were quite legitimate ones).
The Bears went out and hired Ben Johnson as Williams’ head coach. Johnson is considered by some to be he best playcaller in the game, and he’s now calling plays for Chicago.
The Bears went out and brought in three, possibly four, new starting offensive linemen to keep Williams upright.
If that wasn’t enough, the first two picks they made in the NFL Draft were two new weapons to add to his stable with Colston Loveland and Luther Burden.
Caleb Williams has everything he needs to succeed.
Williams, showing a few strides but still struggling in other areas, isn’t going to be what fans (or media) will expect to see. Williams needs to make significant strides and show that he’s pushing to become one of the top ten quarterbacks in the league. That, to me, is the minimum type of season we should expect from Williams.
We should expect Williams to become the first 4,000-yard passer in Chicago Bears history. We should expect him to push for the franchise record in passing touchdowns in a season (29). We should expect him to cut at least 25 sacks off his total.
Caleb Williams needs to prove this season that he is the talent the Bears expected him to be when they selected him first overall in the NFL Draft. He needs to prove that he’s the guy who is going to lead this team out of the doldrums and become a perennial Super Bowl contender. He needs to prove that if the Bears are going to win a Super Bowl, the fans, media, the front office, and the coaching staff all know that he’s the man to do it as the Chicago Bears quarterback.
The time is now for Caleb Williams to prove to everyone that he’s ready to become the greatest quarterback in Chicago Bears history.