To no one’s surprise, the Chicago Bears selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Williams is considered a generational talent by some and is entering a situation with the Bears in which he will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.
An NFL scout tells the NFL Analysis Network that he is expecting big things from Williams during his rookie campaign.
“He has one of the NFL’s best offenses around him, if not the best,” the scout said. “If I were to throw out an early projection, I’d estimate around 4,200 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.”
Chicago went into the offseason with DJ Moore and not a whole lot else at wide receiver, but it swung a trade for Keenan Allen and also took Washington receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick of the draft on Thursday evening. Not only that, but the Bears signed running back D’Andre Swift, and they also have Cole Kmet at tight end.
Additionally, Chicago has a decent offensive line, so Williams should have adequate protection.
Basically, Williams’ circumstances will be a heck of a lot better than most other No. 1 overall picks.
The 22-year-old is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 68.6 percent of his passes. He also punched in 11 rushing scores.
Williams began his collegiate career at Oklahoma in 2021, but transferred to USC the following year.
He enjoyed a brilliant debut campaign with the Trojans in 2022, totaling 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and five picks while completing 66.6 percent of his throws. In addition, he rushed for 382 yards and 10 scores.
We’ll see if Caleb Williams is able to live up to expectations in 2024.
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