Bear Digest

Caleb Williams' Big Day Has Arrived

Analysis: Bears quarterback legacy of disappointment could finally be over if NFL Draft's top pick delivers like at USC.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams talks with reporters in Detroit after an appearance at a Special Olympics flag football clinic.
Caleb Williams talks with reporters in Detroit after an appearance at a Special Olympics flag football clinic. / Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Justin Fields, Mitchell Trubisky, Jay Cutler, Nick Foles, Mike Glennon, Andy Dalton, the list goes on and on.

It runs straight back through Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Kordell Stewart and Jim Miller, Erik Kramer and all the way to No. 9 in a headband, Jim McMahon.

Every Bears quarterback since the punky one has simply failed to get it done, suffered injuries, has been just plain rotten or fit into a slot of mediocrity somewhere. 

The day has finally arrived for their next attempt and with the first pick overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Caleb Williams is expected to walk up and shake Roger Goodell's hand, maybe give him a hug. He'll become part of the Chicago scene while in Detroit, just after 7 p.m.

Something seems different about this attempt.

As Chicagooans have become more and more familiar with Williams throughout this lengthy run up to the draft, it has become apparent very little fazes him. This is how a quarterback should be, must be, in Chicago.

He has fought his way through tougher times than some draft analysts give him credit for, and emerged with a Heisman and at the top with a lightning release and an ability to improvise.

Don't mistake the laid-back demeanor he exhibits with a dislike for competition. He loved the intensity of the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry.

"That was pretty sick," he said.

He didn't mind Notre Dame-USC either.

Now he's going to enjoy the NFC North. It seems only Green Bay is lacking a former teammate for him to beat up on.

"If I was to go to the Bears and they was to select me I would be able to go against one of my old teammates Jordan (Addison) and kick his tail," Williams told reporters. "I would love to have bragging rights over that.

"And then I get to go against Amon-Ra (St. Brown) which is one my good friends, also, and kick his tail. I just kicked his tail in bowling the other day. He hasn't talked to me since. But yeah it should be fun to play anywhere but to be able to play some of those guys and be able to talk trash to them or whatever, it would be fun for me."

ROME ODUNZE TALKS ABOUT HIS FLIGHT WITH CALEB WILLIAMS

The big concern some had over his competitive nature coming into the draft centered around how he paints his nails. What kind a tough competitor has his nails painted? It's a relaxing thing, he said, to just "chill" in the nail salon.

"I'm comfortable in my own skin and I know what I am and who I like and what I like and how I go about that," he said.

Joe Namath once wore a mink coat and also panty hose. He could compete. The invincible Baltimore Colts learned this.

Williams seems to speak his mind in a manner reminiscent of Namath. He's not predicting SuperBowls, but seems entirely frank about his feelings. He exhibited this during The Pivot podcast last week.

While Williams doesn't mind speaking what's on his mind, he seems savy to the off-field or in-locker room responsibilities of the NFL QB. He understands the limits of being candid.

It didn't bother him one bit Wednesday in Detroit to let reporters know who he thinks the team should draft ninth in Round 1. Most players at Halas Hall will tell you they don't pay that much attention to the draft, even if they all do because their next job comeptitor is coming from it.

Williams' choice for No. 9 wasn't his new wide receiver friend and airplane companion Rome Odunze. This might be his second choice, or one of them.

"If I was able to choose and if I was picked No. 1 with the Bears, I would probably go Olu Fashanu because I know he would put his life on the line for me, protecting me and then, geez, I would probably go one of the top three wide receivers, whoever's there at nine," he told reporters in Detroit.

Of course Williams would say Fashanu. The Penn State tackle and projected first-round pick was his high school teammate.

So besides understanding that a quarterback needs pass blocking first to make his game work, Williams is also a diplomat. He could have easily said one of the receivers, but his guy needs his support.

There's no telling what Braxton Jones, the current Bears left tackle, would think of such a pick.

You get the sense Williams would thread his way through that somewhat sticky situation. He just comes across as the type who can.

Williams says he can't wait to get this all over with and get to the locker room setting, even if he seems perfectly at ease in the spotlight talking about everything from how he likes deep dish pizza to the blue suit he'll wear on the stage Thursdya night..

Calling the entire first pick situation "surreal," he said he's "really ready" for the competitive part after being away from football since November.

Chicago is ready for him, too.

And it's been a lot longer than since November since they've seen a quarterback who can do what everyone suggests Williams can.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.