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4 Unteachable Traits That Make Caleb Williams a Superstar

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Jan 20, 2026 5:48 PM ET

While he fell agonizingly short of making Chicago Bears history, Caleb Williams still had an incredible sophomore season in 2025. He set a franchise record with his 3,942 passing yards, beat the Packers twice in one season (something a Bears QB hadn't done since 1991), and became the NFL record holder for fewest interceptions in a quarterback's first 1,000 pass attempts. And that's not even getting into the utterly insane highlight reel he put together this season while leading the Bears to an NFL-record seven comeback victories after trailing in the final two minutes.

In short, Williams progressed by leaps and bounds from his underwhelming rookie season and now stands on the cusp of becoming a truly elite NFL quarterback. It seems inevitable that he will find his way into most Top 5 quarterbacks lists before too long. According to some analysts, he's already Top 10. That's what Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright discussed on The Herd on Tuesday.

Wright went on to explain what he believes makes Williams so great, and why he's so confident in Williams' future, and he listed four "super important" traits that he considers "hard or impossible" to teach: raw athleticism, arm talent, creativity, and coolness under pressure. Caleb Williams, according to Wright, is "a ten out of ten on all four of those".

"The 4 QB traits that are super important and are the hardest to teach are raw athleticism, arm talent, creativity, and coolness under pressure. And he's a 10/10 on all 4 of those."@colincowherd and @getnickwright talk about Caleb Williams' growth this season pic.twitter.com/5BvUGLvxdQ
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 20, 2026

Williams' flaws are fixable. His strengths are unteachable.

This is exactly why Bears fans should feel nothing but hope for the future, despite that heartbreaking Divisional round loss to the Rams on Sunday. There are facets of his game that Williams must improve going forward, most notably his accuracy and footwork. He knows this, too. But those are two of the most fixable deficiencies for NFL quarterbacks, flaws that can be ironed out with enough practice.

Williams' strengths, however, are completely unteachable. The athleticism, the arm talent, and that X-factor that lets him deliver in the clutch over and over again. Rewatch his fourth-down touchdown pass to Cole Kmet last Sunday to force overtime. That was one of the best throws in NFL postseason history, and Williams is one of maybe three quarterbacks who can make that play.

NO WAY. CALEB WILLIAMS HEAVES IT ON 4TH DOWN.

LARvsCHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/JJymsDhen2
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2026

There's no teaching instinct like that. A quarterback either has it, or he doesn't and never will. Williams can learn what other quarterbacks are great at, but outside of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, no other NFL quarterback can replicate what Williams does. And that's why Williams is going to be a superstar in this league.