NFL Draft

2024 NFL Draft: How does Caleb Williams mesh with the Bears?

What were the biggest takeaways from the 2024 NFL Draft quarterback class and their landing spots?

Cory Kinnan

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams poses with
Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams poses with / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

What does Caleb Williams bring to the Bears?

  1. On what traits Caleb Williams brings to the NFL:
  2. On Caleb Williams' fit with Bears' OC Shane Waldron:
  3. On the talent he is surrounded with in year-one:

The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and just as it was projected last Spring, USC quarterback Caleb Williams went to the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick.

And now that the dust has settled a bit, we can begin to break down the value of the pick, the fit of Williams with the Bears and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, what traits he brings to the NFL, and more. That is just what the Daft on Draft Podcast did in their latest episode.

The full podcast can be found on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, but here are the important talking points discussed on Williams, the Bears, and what he could be able to do right away with the talent they have put around him.

On what traits Caleb Williams brings to the NFL:

"Caleb Williams is a top 10 worthy prospect. Caleb Williams is a great quarterback prospect. I just personally thought Drake Maye was better, right? But we're talking about Caleb Williams, the ability to improvise, to throw off platform from multiple arm slots, to generate velocity on those throws, to drive the ball into tight windows. There's a lot to like about Caleb Williams."

On Caleb Williams' fit with Bears' OC Shane Waldron:

"For one, I do think that Waldron's passing concepts will cater to what Caleb wants to do and that's sling the football deep down the field, right? So not only that, but he will have a diverse run game that Waldron has been very good at over his time as an offensive coordinator, as a play caller as well, to kind of play off of as well, which he did not have at USC. That USC offense, man, Lincoln Riley's kind of exposed himself a little bit over the past few years for a lack of things they've been able to do offensively with Caleb Williams specifically. So I do think he is in a great situation to succeed right away."

On the talent he is surrounded with in year-one:

"Shane Waldron, look what Shane has done, his body of work with Geno Smith, with Russell Wilson, what Russell Wilson did after he left Seattle comparatively as well. What he got out of those wide receivers as well in Seattle, the concepts he was able to get DK Metcalf, to get Tyler Lockett open, to get Jackson Smith-Njigba incorporated as well.

Caleb Williams has DJ Moore, he has Romo Odunze, and he has Keenan Allen. So there are a lot of reasons to be bullish about Chicago's offense, maybe not their offensive line so much. Yeah, they got Darnell Wright, their first round pick last year, and they drafted Amegadjie, the kid from Yale in the third round to play left tackle. We'll see if he starts right away, if they stick with Braxton Jones for a little bit, or if Amegadjie plays guard for them. We'll kind of see what happens there. But I think Caleb is in the best potential situation."

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Cory Kinnan

CORY KINNAN