Caleb Williams Teases Hidden Bears Weapon While Hyping 13 Personnel

The Chicago Bears made waves when they selected Stanford tight end Sam Roush in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft. With Colston Loveland coming off a tremendous rookie season and the steady veteran Cole Kmet at TE2, it seemed like a luxury pick that the Bears could ill afford. But Caleb Williams is now toting Roush as a secret weapon for the Bears in 2026.

Caleb Williams is buying stock in Sam Roush, and so should Bears fans

Ben Johnson may be buying stock in Luther Burden III, but Caleb Williams is buying up stock for the rookie Sam Roush. Appearing on the New Heights podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce, Williams spoke about several things, especially Caleb Williams appearing on the Madden 27 cover. Travis later mentioned that the Bears have "two absolute dogs" in the tight end room, referring to Kmet and Loveland. Williams immediately corrected Travis, saying, "I got a third one now. Y'all haven't seen him."

This, of course, is Roush. Williams described him as "tall, smooth, a freak of nature". Williams went on to say, "I'm juiced. We're juiced".

It has to be said that while Williams has seen more of Roush than any fan or analyst has, it's still early in OTAs. Roush is still likely learning the playbook along with the other rookies, but he's clearly made quite the impression on his quarterback. And if Williams is impressed, you can bet that head coach Ben Johnson is also impressed.

The Bears ran more 12- and 13-personnel than almost any other team last year, meaning plays that have two or three tight ends on the field. They did that even with Durham Smythe underwhelming in the TE3 role. With Roush now on the roster, who represents a significantly higher ceiling than Smythe even as a rookie, Bears fans should expect that number of 12- and 13-personnel usage to go even higher.

Projecting Roush's rookie stats

All that said, it's important to remember that Roush is a rookie in a crowded tight end room. He may have the juice, but he's low in the pecking order when it comes to target share. Loveland is almost certainly going to command the lion's share of the targets in the passing game this season, even including the wide receivers. Kmet has been reliable in the redzone and will certainly get his fair share, too.

I wouldn't expect Roush to end up anywhere near Offensive Rookie of the Year conversations. Fans should expect to see him be instrumental in blocking assignments while providing limited production in the passing game. I could see him ending up with somewhere between 250 and 350 yards, with a touchdown or two to boot.

I'm not sure if that qualifies as the kind of secret weapon that Williams infers Roush to be, but if Williams is a believer in the rookie, then I can go along with that for the time being.

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