Bear Digest

NFL analyst says Caleb Williams can't play in structure, but he's dead wrong

The narrative that Caleb Williams lacks the timing to play in a detail-oriented offense is purely a myth, and now we have the proof.
Pete Martuneac|
David Reginek-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams was one of the most highly regarded quarterback prospects in recent memory when he declared for the 2024 NFL draft. One former NFL GM even said he would have drafted Williams ahead of Peyton Manning. The biggest knock on his game as he entered the draft was that he freelanced too much on the field, the kind of thing that works in college but can get a quarterback eviscerated in the pros.

It was a fair criticism, and it still applies today. Williams has excelled at hero ball from time to time in the NFL, but it's much riskier at this level; Williams needs to balance the Superman plays and the Clark Kent routine. What's not a fair criticism is the persisting myth that, rather than just needing to balance out-of-structure play with the in-structure, Williams is simply incapable of the latter.

NFL analyst Colin Cowherd recently spoke on this subject (again) on his show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, a show with a history of delivering the worst Caleb Williams hot takes. He came to the conclusion that the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams pairing won't work because Johnson's offense demands precision and timing while Caleb Williams "likes to adlib".

This is pure fiction, and the Bears' Week 2 game against Johnson's former team is proof of that. Ted Nguyen, a senior writer and NFL analyst at The Athletic, did a Caleb Williams film review and came away impressed. The biggest take away from Nguyen's film review for Bears fans? He noted that Williams played outside of structure only four times on Sunday, twice in situations where the Bears were far behind the sticks and the other two were scrambles for positive yards when no one was open.

The fact of the matter is that when Ben Johnson said he saw "significant growth" in Caleb Williams from Week 1 to Week 2, that wasn't coach-speak. That was the gospel truth. Nguyen's numbers don't lie and as Williams gets more experience in this new offense, I suspect we'll see this more and more.

Colin Cowherd has a segment on his show where he reviews what he got right and what he got wrong with his predictions. I hope he's ready to include this particular hot take in the "wrong" column soon; we're only two weeks into the Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams era and it's already trending that way.

Caleb William
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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