Caleb Williams Lands Atop Latest QB Rankings Ahead of Week 2 Showdown vs Vikings

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson made waves last month when he said he wanted to break the NFL scoring record, but he and quarterback Caleb Williams are already well on their way towards actually doing it after a 59-point Week 1 thriller against the Carolina Panthers. Accordingly, Williams is seeing his stock soar as the NFL world finally begins to believe that he is the superstar that was promised.

In my Week 1 QB rankings roundup, before any games had been played, Williams' highest spot was 6th over at Sporting News while most other publications had him in the 8th to 13th range. Now, Williams is near the top, landing at 2nd in Nick Shook's Week 2 QB index for NFL Media, while FOX Sport's Henry McKenna asks whether Caleb Williams is the best QB on the planet in his Week 2 rankings.

"The 24-year-old now deeply understands the timing and priorities of Ben Johnson's scheme and operates comfortably within its structure," Shook writes, "but much like a great guitarist, Caleb's artistic improvisation is what makes him special and elevates Chicago's offense from very good to fantastic"

McKenna concurred, adding, "Williams and Ben Johnson already had the NFL’s attention. Soon, they’ll have the NFL’s respect. And by the season’s end, 31 teams will be studying the Bears to figure out what they can copy."

Caleb Williams is finally living up to the generational hype

The 2026 season could not have gotten off to a better start for Williams, the Bears, or Bears fans. While Williams' 2025 breakout season was good, I had said all along that the Bears needed Williams to be more than just good. They selected him with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to be elite, and now in 2026 we're finally seeing that elite ceiling.

What made his Week 1 performance truly sensational wasn't just the highlight-reel throws, as special as those were. It was the poise that Williams had on the field. We heard all throughout training camp that Williams' command of Ben Johnson's offense had grown by leaps and bounds, and we finally saw that on Sunday.

That was the goal all along for Williams to take that next step towards superstardom. We knew he would always be able to make ridiculous plays happen, but we needed to see him consistently do the mundane tasks of an NFL quarterback. Set the protections, see the field, and put the ball where it's supposed to be. Now that Williams is doing that, the sky is truly the limit.

Can Caleb Williams remain poised against a tough division rival?

There is a grain of salt that should be taken along with these quarterback rankings, and that is that the Bears faced the Panthers in Week 1, who went 8-9 last year. There's a good chance that the Panthers have improved quite a bit themselves, but we just don't know for sure yet. Up next, the Bears face a stiff challenge when the Minnesota Vikings and their blitz-happy defense come to town.

Ben Johnson faces a war with Brian Flores, Minnesota's vaunted defensive coordinator. These two are considered masters of their craft, and this will serve as a good stress test for Williams and the Bears' offense as a whole. If the Bears want to move to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 2020, Williams needs to live up to his new place on the quarterback rankings.

No one doubts that the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson can handle tough defenses. Now that he's being ranked among such elite company, Williams must prove that he well and truly belongs.

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