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One Insane Caleb Williams Ranking Enrages Chicago Bears Fans

The Bears QB might be No. 51 in the league according to players but one analyst says he's a flop as a first-round draft pick. Obviously Bears fans disagreed.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams celebrates with Bears fans after beating the Packers and inching closer to an NFC North title.
Caleb Williams celebrates with Bears fans after beating the Packers and inching closer to an NFC North title. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

There is legitimate analysis and then there is something done for shock value.

Mike Renner of CBS Sports unleashed one of the all-timers only for shock value this week. It's void of any valuable analysis whatsoever. At a time when Bears fans are feeling positive over quarterback Caleb Williams going into 2026 after he was named No. 51 in the top 100 NFL players, Renner has decided to be the fly in the ointment or in something more foul, and obviously sought to infuriate Bears fans by ranking Williams among the worst first-round draft picks of the decade.

It's the kind of silly ranking only Packers fans come up on social media. The best passer the Bears have ever had based on touchdown-to-interception ratio, and the No. 1 NFL QB for fewest interceptions in their first 1,000 passes ever, but he's a disappointment after two years? It sounds like Renner doesn't know Caleb Williams from Andy Williams.

His ranking of Williams among 191 first-round picks this decade is 138th. The Bears QB was ranked only seven spots ahead of Justin Fields, who didn't even warrant a second Bears contract and was traded.

Cam Ward ranked far above Williams

Renner ranked Cam Ward a full level higher than Williams at 91st overall, even though Ward last year was 69th in passing EPA among 71 NFL quarterbacks while Williams was 11th. Ward had 15 TD passes as a rookie, five less than Williams had as a rookie, and nowhere near Williams' total last year of 27. He also threw for a worse completion percentage as a rookie than Williams did as a rookie. Yet, Williams is the disappointment and not Ward.

I have three old pair of glasses in my house my wife has been telling me to throw out because they're from decades ago and no good. I'll send them to Renner gladly if he provides an address because Mr. Magoo here obviously needs something to help his eyesight.

How many disappointments lead seven fourth-quarter comebacks in an NFL season and postseason? The answer is a very low number, single digits. As in zero.

Perhaps the biggest joke is Jayden Daniels as No. 7 overall on his list for top picks with Williams 138. This is the same Jayden Daniels who was 37th in passing EPA last year, 26 behind Williams. Sure, Daniels had a disappointing 2025 season. Williams did, too, in 2024. But his came as a rookie in an offense coached by clowns from Bozo's Circus and even then he managed to throw for 14 more touchdown passes than interceptions.

Williams put together comebacks with drives and sometimes did it from three scores behind. He didn't simply get lucky on a Hail Mary pass against Tyrique Stevenson. He beat the Rams' coverage on a deep ball, won on a fourth-and-8 pass against the Packers downfield to Rome Odunze, and on a throw to Jahdae Walker to set up a victory.

Cam Ward was rated higher than Williams at 91. Ward had a worse completion percentage as a rookie than Williams, threw for 15 touchdowns, or five less than Williams. Ward finished 69th in passing EPA last year among the 71 NFL QBs. He was only better than Jaxson Dart and Shedeur Sanders. Yet, Williams was 11th and he rates behind Ward. By the way, Williams was rated behind Dart by Renner, as well.

At the very worse, Williams should rate in the second group because of one questionable year and one good year, but he's not in that group.

This middle group actually includes Rome Odunze. Again, Renner must not be watching actual football games because Odunze's second season turned into a disappointment after Game 7 and his rookie year was so-so. He has Odunze ranked 58 spots ahead of Williams as the ninth pick of the 2024 draft. Even the most positive and optimistic Bears fan wouldn't be so high on Odunze's prospects after seeing his first two seasons.

Darnell Wright is graded in the top group at No. 56 overall as a 10th rounder. Again, you have to wonder what's going on with his eyesight here because Jahmyr Gibbs of the Lions is below Wright at No. 60. The Lions' offense might be nowhere without Gibbs, who was obviously one of the top draft picks made over the last five years.

Colston Loveland trashed as well

Another Bears slight: Tyler Warren makes it into the top third while Colston Loveland does not at No. 70. Loveland wasn't entirely healthy early, so his catch total wasn't as high as Warren's. He had 198 fewer plays than Warren as a result.

Yet, Loveland averaged more per catch (12.3), had a better success rate per catch (56.1 to 51.8) and two more touchdown catches than Warren. When Williams threw to Loveland, he had a 121.6 passer rating. When the Colts threw to Warren they had a 93.5 passer rating.

Again, that was Williams, the "disappointing" draft pick doing the throwing to Loveland. Shouldn't that somehow elevate Loveland even more when he's achieving while forced to chase passes from such a disappointing passer?

This isn't to diminish Warren's play, but only to point out Loveland doesn't belong in the middle third of 191 draft picks if Warren is in the top third. Their production was too similar and Loveland's actually superior in many ways.

There are numerous more faults with this list but not even worth dwelling upon because it was basically trash done for clickbait and to infuriate some fans who tend to run on hot.

As stories go on CBS Sports.com, this one is definitely ranked down in the disappointing percentage, or actually right at the bottom.

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Published
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.

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