Bear Digest

Does Caleb Williams need to keep his GM style posts to himself?

The connection between Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze was apparent last year before the draft and now there are signs he likes another potential player for the Bears offense, for better or worse.

Gene Chamberlain

Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams became friends and the Bears' interest was there before the draft last year. Is this kind of thing happening again?
Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams became friends and the Bears' interest was there before the draft last year. Is this kind of thing happening again? / David Banks-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Bears did right by Caleb Williams by providing a free agent offensive line to protect him and now he's apparently hoping they'll do something similar in the draft by listening to him.

You have to wonder if he's doing right by them by taking to social media too much.

He took to social media again, this time through Instagram to post likes on an NFL post calling Ashton Jeanty a can't-miss prospect.

It's not an isolated incident as he also had a photo of himself and Jeanty posted back in January.

All of this brings to mind last year when Williams seemed to latch onto wide receiver Rome Odunze during the predraft process before either he or the Bears receiver had even officially been selected by the Bears. He obviously had some insight into the Bears' thinking ahead of time because it had been apparent by then he would be their pick and he would need receivers.

Now, it's even easier to connect the dots because not only is Williams their starter and was present at coach Ben Johnson's introductory press conference, but running back might be their primary need in this draft and Jeanty is considered the top backfield prospect.

Jeanty hasn't been shy when it comes to talking about the Bears. At the combine, he said he interviewed with them and spoke with running backs coach Eric Bieniemy.

"It went great, I talked with Coach Bieniemy, just talking football, talking about my life," Bieniemy said. "It was a great meeting. It was great meeting with all of them."

The big difference here is the Bears are not well positioned to take Jeanty at No. 10. It's believed the Raiders could have interest, and if not, the Cowboys could try to trade up and get him before the Bears pick. The Saints and a few other teams might be interested, as well.

The negative aspect of all of this is it doesn't help the GM's element of surprise or his draft strategy to have the quarterback out in cyberspace liking things said or posted regarding a pick.

If Poles wanted to trade up and teams know there is interest, it can become a ransom situaiton. They can hold out for as much as possible in draft pick compensation with the threat of trading the pick to someone else. It could become a situation like Ryan Pace faced when he decided he had to trade up and draft Mitchell Trubisky, although he really didn't need to make that move to get his QB.

If the Bears were simply going to take Jeanty No. 10, none of this would matter. However, the demand for a special back is becoming greater these days, and Jeanty, himself, noted this at the combine.

"I think it's been shown this year by the Eaqles, Saquon Barkley, that a great running back can help your team out a lot," Jeanty said.

Now if they make sure Williams doesn't tell everyone how important it is, maybe the Bears can do something about this in the draft.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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.