When Caleb Williams decided to not participate in the NFL Scouting Combine, all eyes were going to be on the USC pro day. Williams went out there to demonstrate his arm, throwing passes in front of multiple front offices — most notably the Chicago Bears. Not everybody was impressed with the performance, though.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky called Williams’ pro day “underwhelming” and thought it was potentially by design. Since everyone knows the special off-schedule throws the quarterback to make, showing off things a bit simpler could have been USC’s goal.
“It was an underwhelming performance throwing the football, but it was geared towards the naysayers,” Orlovsky said. “He wanted to kind of almost have a governor on him and not have much flash because his tape is so flashy. I did like the fact that Luis (Riddick) said watching how he walked around and handled himself was impressive.”
Just over a month out from the NFL Draft, Williams is the consensus No. 1 overall pick. The Bears traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving them without a franchise quarterback. Others, including Orlovsky, have argued against the Bears taking Williams but thus far, all signs point toward it happening.
“I think the pro day is a little bit of a microcosm of where the Bears likely are,” Orlovsky said. “In 2023, there’s not a lot of eyebrow-raising, jaw-dropping, wow throws from the pocket, there are tons of it outside the pocket. In 2022, there’s a fair amount of eyebrow-raising, jaw-dropping, wow throws from the pocket. So you’re trying to figure out, if you’re the Bears, why was that the case?”
USC was completely different in 2022 than it was in 2023. Lincoln Riley was able to bring former Biletnikoff Trophy winner and future Minnesota Vikings star Jordan Addison to Los Angeles, helping Williams look great inside the pocket.
Other factors, such as USC’s offensive line, suffered in 2023 and caused Williams to play out of rhythm and sync. Orlovsky hopes Chicago can figure out the difference between the two seasons before deciding to take Williams with the first pick.
“So when you watch the Pro Day, you go, alright, a little pulled back. And then when you watch the two years of tape [at USC], you sit there and go, well one year he’s a no-brainer No. 1 pick, and then the next year you sit there and go, well how much of that can I bank on happening on Sundays. Again, all reports are he’s going to be the No. 1 pick. For me, that’s what I’d want to figure out if I was the Bears amongst many other things.”
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