Bears holding nothing back from Caleb Williams' workload early

The Bears are throwing the rookie into the fire right away.

Jun 5, 2024; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) warms up during the team's minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears wasted no time naming Caleb Williams as their starting quarterback after selecting him with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

And now it turns out that they are hiding very little of the playbook from him in the early tenure of his reign as QB1 in the Windy City. Living through the ups and downs, the coaching staff is encouraging Williams to try to make every throw, even the difficult ones. According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, the Bears have thrown Williams right into the action.

"The Bears held very little back from their rookie quarterback as he began learning the offense, and his ability to 'chunk information, put it into buckets and operate' impressed coach Matt Eberflus throughout the spring. Coaches encouraged Williams to experiment with different throws in OTAs and minicamp to see what windows he could hit while making sure his footwork timed up with when he released the ball."

- ESPN's Courtney Cronin

The Bears hope they have found their franchise quarterback, and Williams is leaving his early impression on linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edwards. Through his ups and downs of adjusting to the game speed, Williams has manipulated the second level starters a couple of times that got the linebacks "hot about it." Edwards would go on to say, "he's impressive for sure."

Can Williams continue to live up to the hype?