Why Caleb Williams' Best Progress in Training Camp Happens Between the Whistles

The 2026 NFL season is a pivotal one for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. This will be his third season, his second with head coach Ben Johnson, and if he's ever going to become the superstar quarterback he was projected to be ahead of the 2024 NFL draft, then this is the year he'll show it. If all goes well, Ryan Poles will get the green light to sign Williams to a massive extension in 2027.

Speculation regarding whether Williams can reach those heights is running rampant as we get into the thick of training camp, with every pass, every touchdown, and every interception coming under a microscope. Fans and analysts want to see if his deficiencies from last year are getting better, such as accuracy and down-to-down consistency.

Both of these areas are critical to Williams' development, let's get that straight. There's a reason why Ben Johnson focused on Williams' accuracy in OTAs this spring. That said, there's another area of Williams' game that'll be even more predictive of his future development, and it's an area that shows up between the whistles: ownership of the offense.

Caleb Williams impresses former NFL head coach with his ownership of the offense

Caleb Williams and Kyle Monanga — Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams hands the ball to RB Kyle Monangai during practice. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former NFL coach and head coach of the Chicago Bears Dave Wannstedt made an appearance at the Bears' Wednesday practice this week, and he went on the radio program 104.3 The Score to discuss what he saw. "I almost didn't recognize [Williams]," Wannstedt said.
"It's night and day. He's operating like a four- or five-year guy in this system."

Wennstedt didn't stop there in his praise for the third-year quarterback either. He went on to say, "I'm seeing leadership things. I mean somebody jumped offsides once and he did the Dan Marino thing, put his hands up like 'come on'... That's taking ownership. 'Come on, this is our offense, we can't be doing that'... [The Bears'] offense was as impressive as what I have seen at this stage in the preseason. They weren't missing a beat. They truly weren't."

That last bit is the most important part for the Chicago Bears. Being able to run Ben Johnson's offense is a good thing for Williams, but it also puts a hard ceiling on his potential. You can win a Super Bowl with a merely good quarterback (see the reigning champions), but it's exceptionally difficult. If that proves to be as far as Williams develops, then he's already reached his ceiling as a fringe Top 10 NFL quarterback.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams looks to pass the ball during Training Camp. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But owning the offense is something else entirely. When a quarterback owns the offense, everything becomes easy; the quarterback becomes another head coach who can look straight into the eyes of the defense and know exactly what he needs to do to beat them. He knows every inch of the field and the precise placement for all 22 men on it. The entire offense runs like a well-oiled machine and requires minimal effort to sustain it.

If Williams can reach that level of mastery of the game of football in general and Johnson's scheme specifically, he'll enter that rare echelon of quarterbacks who were true field generals, legends like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers.

The Bears have seen continuous improvement from Caleb Williams this offseason

Ben Johnson and Caleb William — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson talks to QB Caleb Williams during practice. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What makes Wannstedt's report so compelling is the fact that he's not even the first person to make this observation this offseason. During spring OTAs, ESPN insider Courtney Cronin also noted that Caleb Williams' command of Ben Johnson's offense had taken another step forward since last year, and that it showed up in the way Williams led his team. And that was before pads even came on, when practices were still relatively light.

Seeing this same observation of Williams at training camp, and from someone who spent 24 years coaching in some capacity in the NFL, has to be music to the ears of Bears fans. That means what Courtney Cronin saw wasn't a flash in the pan, the result of one pretty good day of practice. This is continuous improvement that the Bears have seen all offseason.

Of course, at the end of the day, this is still just practice. It's all well and good to show command of the offense on quiet practice field against your own defense. Williams still must prove himself when meaningful football games are played, and that won't come for another month. If he can consistently show us in the regular season the same kind of ownership that's being reported in training camp, it'll be time to start lumping these Bears into the same category of contenders as the very best teams in the NFL.

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google