The Chicago Bears are about to start their 105th season in franchise history. For the majority of that time, the Bears have been defined by three things: a ferocious defense, some all-time great running backs, and arguably the most pathetic quarterback lineage in NFL history.
The Bears are the only team in the NFL to never have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Most of the teams passing records are either held by Sid Luckman, whose career predates World War II, or Jay Cutler, who is Jay Cutler. At long last, it finally appears that the Bears have a franchise QB, and it’s not their fans who are hyping up Caleb Williams.
The No. 1 overall pick had another great showing in the NFL preseason in Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it’s creating some wild comparisons and predictions around the internet. Take it Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill — recently ranked as the best player in the NFL by his peers — who tweeted this about Williams during the game.
Caleb Williams so nice he remind me of ……
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) August 17, 2024
Hill is comparing Williams to a guy who used to throw him passes, and he’s not talking about Tua Tagovailoa. Hill is saying the Bears’ rookie reminds him of Patrick Mahomes. That’s pretty good company to be in.
Williams has been drawing Mahomes comps since his early college days at Oklahoma, and now he’s starting to prove that his ‘backyard’ style can translate to the highest levels of the game. After a rough first quarter, Williams started cooking in the second. First, he hooked up with fellow rookie Rome Odunze for a big strike downfield.
He finished the drive with a touchdown for the Bears on a spectacular scramble. Watch Williams as he steps up in the pocket, evades pressure, and breaks contain to find the end zone.
Can Caleb Williams be a top-10 QB as a rookie? Hey, C.J. Stroud did it last year. Williams looks like he’s up for the task so far.
It always felt like it would take a miracle for the Bears to land a franchise QB, and a miracle actually played out. The Bears landed the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023 thanks to an absurd win by Lovie Smith’s Houston Texans in the final game of the season. The Bears traded that pick to the Panthers for a package that included their first round pick in 2024. When the Panthers ended the year as the worst team in football, Caleb Williams became a Bear.
By the way, Williams was asked about Hill’s tweet after the game. He had a perfect response:
Caleb on being compared to Mahomes: “It’s respect, cool and all. But I’m Caleb Williams. Patrick Mahomes is Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill is Tyreek Hill.”
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 17, 2024
Chicago has never seen anything like this before. Williams is going to be so much fun to watch, and even his new NFL peers are already taking notice.
