Welcome to the first edition of NFL Thursday Thoughts, a series of nine questions to take us through the remainder of the offseason, up until the Chiefs and Ravens kick off the 2024 regular season Sept. 5. Each edition will be a deep dive on a major NFL storyline this season, whether it be regarding teams, players, the league as a whole or some combination of the three.
First comes the first overall pick, Caleb Williams, and the Chicago Bears.
On Dec. 31, 2023, cigar smoke filled the Bears’ locker room after a 37-17 victory over the Falcons. But they might as well have been celebrating the result 800 miles southeast, too. The Panthers had slumped to a 26-0 defeat against the Jaguars, securing the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, to be conveyed to Chicago thanks to the team’s deal last offseason.
The white smoke in the Soldier Field locker room, fittingly, signaled change. Hours later, Chicago would be eliminated from playoff contention, and months later, it would run to the podium to select Caleb Williams, turning over yet another new leaf in its long quest to find a franchise quarterback.
Chicago’s futility at quarterback is well known. The Bears are the only franchise to never have a 4,000-yard passer and the only franchise to never have a 30-touchdown passer. Ever since Jim McMahon and Co. won the Super Bowl in the 1985 season, the Bears have drafted 16 quarterbacks. One — Rex Grossman — has won a playoff game with the team. This millennium, the Bears rank dead last in yards per attempt.
That was then. This — Williams — is now. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner has a powerful, accurate arm, can throw on the move and from a variety of angles and has the creativity and mobility to make something out of nothing. In CBS Sports’ Draft Prospect Rankings, Ryan Wilson wrote, “Caleb Williams is as close to Patrick Mahomes as we’ve seen since 2017,” and later doubled down: “The…
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Author : Zachary Pereles
Publish date : 2024-07-11 13:08:01
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