Mark Schlereth's Caleb Williams Take Is Wrong and the Bears' 11-6 Record Proves It

Nobody should be saying Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is elite just yet because he still has more to prove, but nobody should be saying he isn't good, either.

Apparently, former NFL offensive lineman and Super Bowl champ Mark Schlereth didn't get the memo because he said Williams "is not a good quarterback" on his podcast.

Here's Schlereth's explanation for his scorching hot take:

"Caleb Williams is not a good quarterback. He's a dynamic athlete. He makes big-time plays. But is he a good quarterback? No, he's not a good quarterback because he doesn't play on schedule," Schlereth said.

"My evaluation is, watch how many times they get into a late in the third quarter or fourth quarter and they're down 21-7, right? And then he holds the ball, he scrambles around, he makes three big throws and all the sudden they win a game, 21-24," he went on to add. "That's not playing quarterback at an efficient level. That's being a dynamic playmaker."

"So, at this particular point in time, Caleb Williams isn't a good quarterback," Schlereth added. "If you are ranking that class, you'd put Jayden Daniels ahead of him, you'd put Drake Maye ahead of him, I put Bo Nix ahead of him. You know, this generational talent, who's supposed to be a great quarterback, he's not a great quarterback. He's a great playmaker."

Schlereth then went on to praise Williams as a great off-schedule quarterback and compared him to Kyler Murray, saying Williams is "Kyler Murray with more height."

On his podcast, @markschlereth flat out says “Caleb Williams is not a good quarterback.” Then comps him right now to Kyler Murray. 😳 Thoughts?#DaBears pic.twitter.com/gbWRfVtngM
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) July 2, 2026

Unpacking Mark Schlereth's Caleb Williams hot take

Caleb Williams has things to improve in his game. In fact, some of what Schlereth talked about in regard to playing on schedule more has been discussed at length by Bears head coach Ben Johnson and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett.

Even with his issues in that and other areas, Williams has still provided a major boost to the Bears' offense and they do not go 11-6 and win a playoff game without the former No. 1 overall pick last season.

Sure, we'd prefer Williams and the Bears to not have to come back as much as they do, but that's part of what makes Williams good. A lot of quarterbacks young and old would fold in the situations that Williams has thrived in over his first two years in the league.

Now, has Williams posted the stats that some of his fellow draft classmates have, like Nix, Daniels and Maye? No, but that isn't a determining factor in deciding if Williams is deserving of the "good" label.

Williams is just a good quarterback in a draft class that, as of right now, looks to be exceptional. And let's not forget that Williams has arguably been the second-most consistent of the four, as Daniels and Maye have each had one down season in the NFL while Williams has been mostly impressive for two straight years.

I wouldn't even take the Kyler Murray line as that big of an insult and instead I'd consider it more of an indictment on Schlereth's ability to analyze. When healthy, Murray is a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback and that equates to a good quarterback.

Do I think Williams has more talent than Murray? Absolutely, but I would also consider both good quarterbacks, so Schlereth's comparison ruins his point in my eyes.

This take from Schlereth is obviously ridiculous and if Williams takes the step forward to elite status that many of us are think he can this coming season, Schlereth will be hearing it from Bears fans for a long, long time to come.

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