Skip to main content
Bear Digest

Caleb Williams Rockets Up the Speed Charts After Only One Week

The Chicago Bears quarterback was a familiar face on the NFL Next Gen Stats speed board last year and his first effort this year saw him land there again.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams crosses the goal line after his 29-yard run on a scramble for a TD.
Caleb Williams crosses the goal line after his 29-yard run on a scramble for a TD. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this story:

Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams' running accounted for 65 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in the 59-37 win over Carolina to open the season.

It also hit the charts. That's the NFL Next Gen Stats speed charts.

Maybe it's the 10 to 15 pounds Williams said he lost in the offseason or something else, but he put two numbers up on the top 10 board for fastest runs in the league on Sunday for Week 1.

Williams' 29-yard scramble for a touchdown was at 20.8 miles per hour according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That was not only the fastest run by a quarterback but only Cleveland running back Raheim Sanders (21.33), Green Bay receiver Christian Watson (21.09) and Miami running back Jaylen Wright (20.82) were clocked faster by the website,

The 9-yard Williams TD run also found its way into the list at ninth fastest at 20.35 mph.

These were the only Bears runs in the top 10 going into the Monday Night Football game but Kyle Monangai got on the board as well. Monangai's 61-yard TD burst in the second half Sunday landed at 14th fastest at 20.09 mph.

Last year he was among NFL's consistently fast

Williams is no stranger to this speed board. He had five games when he hit 20 mph last year.

At the end of the season, Williams ranked as No. 4 on the Next Gen big board for number of runs at 20 mph or higher. Only Keaton Mitchell (7), Jonathan Taylor (6) and Jahmyr Gibbs (6) had more.

"I think he's like a dual threat, right?" tight end Cole Kmet told reporters after the game in Charlotte. "I know there's a lot of different labels you can put on it but, yeah, I think his speed is really impressive when he gets out in space and it is kind of the great eraser, you know, when things maybe (do) not work out.

"You know, even for him, if he's maybe a little late to get to the third or fourth (receiver in the progression), he can save it with his legs and it's pretty special when you're able to see him do things like that."

The thing that made the QB running so deadly on Sunday was the threat of Williams passing downfield off platform. He ran out of the pocket and was looking downfield to throw, then threw the 47-yard pass on a contested catch to Rome Odunze.

"There's always a second play with Caleb, and I think that's something that we're going to continue to grow with as the season goes on," Kmet said.

With all of the other weapons the Bears showed in the opener, adding in Williams' speed on runs or run-and-pass only adds to an impossible task for defenses the Bears face this season.

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

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.

Home/News