Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams Is Channeling His Inner LeBron James

Caleb Williams is focusing on channeling his inner LeBron James ahead of his rookie year with the Chicago Bears.

Aug 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks on against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Soldier Field. / Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Williams is set to begin his rookie season with the Chicago Bears. While he's facing a ton of pressure to turn the team around, he is looking more than ready to handle it all.

Becoming the face of an NFL franchise is much more responsibility than Williams has ever had. However, he's no stranger to pressure.

During his college career with the USC Trojans, Williams was named a generational talent. He was expected to put up massive numbers and he was signed to huge NIL deals because of the hype that surrounded him.

Speaking of his NIL deals, Williams ended up making around $10 million. He also lived up to most of the expectations on the field.

Now, he's expected to be a superstar the second he steps on the field in the regular season. He's already receiving comparisons to Patrick Mahomes.

Very few young players face the kind of expectations and pressure that Williams is facing. However, he is channeling his inner LeBron James in order to deal with the hype.

In an interview with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Williams opened up about his process.

"There's always something. LeBron [James] always says, and has said before, he only needs one thing. He walks into the stadium, all he needs is one fan, one thing through the week or before the game. Some of it is motivation and some of it is psyching yourself out. That's the other part. It's knowing myself. It's knowing what I like to know, how I like to do things. I know how hard I work. I know the confidence that I have, from my work that I've put in for many, many years now."

Williams also spoke out about using all of the haters as motivation to be even better in the future.

"The other part, and this feeds into knowing myself, is all athletes try to act like they don't see it. I see it, and I use it. I take screenshots of people. People don't know it. I have notes and things that I screenshot. I save the links, all of that. I use it."

All of the best quarterbacks in the NFL operate the same way. They all find ways to get extra motivation.

Every great quarterback has also found ways to find peace in the chaos. At the very least, Williams is showing maturity beyound his years. That bodes well for his future.

It will be interesting to see if Williams can live up to the hype once again this season. He has done it throughout his entire career and he's giving solid signs that he'll do it again with the Bears.