Bear Digest

Bears’ Caleb Williams Lands on List of QBs Ready for a 2026 Leap

After a revealing 2025 season, NFL.com sees a potential 2026 leap coming for Bears QB Caleb Williams.
Bryan Perez|
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Chicago Bears

When NFL.com released its recent list of six quarterbacks poised to make a leap in 2026, one name stood out immediately: Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams.

Coming off a second NFL season that reshaped both his trajectory and the Bears' long-term outlook, Williams' inclusion on the list feels a little more like acknowledgment than it does projection.

Indeed, the Bears' 2025 season didn't end the way Bears Nation hoped. And Caleb Williams' overtime interception against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round wasn't the best "last pass" of the year. But if we zoom out, by most measures, Williams had a transformative season in his first year under new head coach Ben Johnson.

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As NFL.com's Nick Shook noted, "Williams' first year under Ben Johnson produced a noticeable jump, both statistically and visually."

In other words, Williams began making good on his generational scouting report with Johnson leading the way. Especially late in games, when the 2024 first-overall pick became Iceman.

During his rookie season, Caleb Williams was knocked for holding the ball too long; he was teetering on being called a slow processor, which is a fatal flaw for NFL quarterbacks. However, by the end of the 2025 season, that rookie-year version of Williams was largely gone.

Instead, Williams played with a more decisive and calm demeanor under Johnson. The game is slowing down for him, which is a dangerous combination for a quarterback like Williams, who naturally has a gunslinger's mentality.

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Indeed, it's Williams' rare traits that fuel the MVP-like optimism for his outlook. His arm strength and top-tier athletic ability allowed him to make throws that few quarterbacks even attempt, let alone complete, and those flashes became a consistent part of his game by the end of the year.

It's that late-season growth that has NFL.com's outlook for Caleb Williams so bullish. Now, with a full offseason to work in Ben Johnson's system, he'll go from being familiar with it to mastering it. Somehow, his already sky-high ceiling is even higher.

For a Chicago Bears team that's spent its entire existence searching for a franchise quarterback, it's finally time to rest with the peace of mind that comes with having one.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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