Player Profile: Caleb Williams
After beating the Washington Commanders this past week, the Bears are 3-2, and there’s a lot of excitement in this fan base. The man at the helm is Caleb Williams, who was quite polarizing in year one but has rejuvenated life entering the midway point of season 2. The new head coach, Ben Johnson, has manipulated this offense to make Williams succeed.
According to ProFootballReference, despite the rocky season last year (a 5-12 record as a rookie), Williams had 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 87.8.
This season, he’s already on pace for 4,000 yards with 1,179 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also has a 97.8 passer rating and a 61.2% completion percentage. Most importantly, he’s on a 3-game win streak against the Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Commanders.
Was Caleb Williams Worth the First Pick?
It’s hard to say because team success differs from the top three quarterbacks selected in the first three picks. On one hand, you have Caleb, being 5-12 in his rookie season, while Jayden Daniels was the complete opposite, 12-5, leading the Commanders to their first playoff appearance in years. The Patriots landed Drake Maye, who, like Williams, had a rocky start but looks fantastic to start 2025 off, having a 112.5 passer rating and lighting up the AFC East, being tied for first at 4-2 with the Buffalo Bills. At the time of writing, he's also 5th in the league for passing yards.
This season, Williams seems full of life, passing for no less than 200 yards in each game he’s played. He passes the eye test and looks more comfortable, not trying to play hero ball, scrambling around the pocket. That type of play caused him to be sacked 50+ times last year, the most in the league. So far, all three quarterbacks have found their success, and in my opinion, they each landed in the best position for them to succeed. I believe that Caleb could be the best out of the three.
What’s next for Caleb Williams? Can he be generational?
The sky is the limit, quite frankly, for Caleb Williams. I refer much of this thinking to Ben Johnson coming to Chicago and installing an offense where Williams can grow. Some people might think that this isn’t an authentic and natural development of a quarterback, but I’d like to refer back to the revival of Jared Goff's career in Detroit with the Lions. Before Johnson’s arrival, Goff had 3,245 yards and a passer rating of 91.5. After Johnson’s arrival, Goff hasn’t gone below a 97.9 rating or 4,400 yards in his career since then.
The same thing happened with the development of quarterback play by names such as Josh Allen and Brian Daboll in Buffalo. This is what Johnson is doing and how he’s succeeding with Williams. Luckily for Williams, it’s all clicked so far. The goal for Williams isn’t to pass for 5,000 yards every season but to play smart, just like they’ve been doing recently, and utilizing the growing run game and the short to intermediate offense in two tight ends sets. So far, he’s evolving and growing, but most importantly, the Bears are now winning. With the Saints next up, the Bears can be 4-2 by the time week 8 rolls around.