Bears were allegedly 'close' to drafting J.J. McCarthy over Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but Bears general manager Ryan Poles allegedly told McCarthy's non-Vikings QB coach that they were close to going with McCarthy.

Kevin O'Connell and J.J. McCarthy at Vikings minicamp in 2025. | Image courtesy of the Minnesota Viking

Imagine how the dominos of the 2024 NFL Draft would've fallen if J.J. McCarthy had been drafted first overall by the Chicago Bears. If you think it's a wild thought experiment, think again. Intel revealed Monday by The Athletic's Alec Lewis suggests that Chicago considered taking McCarthy before settling on Caleb Williams.

Lewis, in an incredible tale about the rise of McCarthy (subscription required), chatted with Greg Holcomb, a respected quarterback coach who has worked extensively with the 22-year-old Vikings quarterback. Holcomb told Lewis that he found himself talking with Bears general manager Ryan Poles about McCarthy after the 2024 draft.

"[Poles] was talking about how much they loved J.J.,” Holcomb said, according to Lewis. “And said to me, 'I don’t think people realize how close we were to possibly taking him.' Obviously, they love Caleb, but I thought that was interesting."

McCarthy was drafted 10th overall by Minnesota. While the Vikings hope they've found their franchise quarterback, the Bears without a doubt have one in Williams, who threw for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions as a rookie last season.

Had McCarthy gone first overall to the Bears, the Washington Commanders would've had to choose between Williams and quarterback Jayden Daniels, whom they selected at No. 2. At this point, it's a slippery slope of hypotheticals, but there might be a world where the Commanders loved Daniels enough to pass on Williams and set the Patriots up at No. 3 to decide between Williams and quarterback Drake Maye.

We'll never know, but the fact that Chicago was allegedly close to taking McCarthy is a signal that Minnesota wound up with a player at No. 10 who was good enough to be considered first overall. Now it's up to McCarthy to show the Bears that they made the wrong choice — and he'll get his first opportunity to do so when the Vikings and Bears meet at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football to open the 2025 season.