Caleb Williams has a ‘ways to go’ says analyst, as Chicago Bears training camp observations cause concern

Caleb Williams’ rookie flaws may take longer to correct than Bears fans had initially anticipated

Caleb Williams’ shocking confession during the NFL offseason became one of the biggest talking points, as the Bears QB1 admitted he had been watching film alone and wasn’t coached on what to look for while doing so. Analyst Dan Orlovsky said the way the Bears treated Caleb Williams was a ‘disgrace’.

The offensive coordinator at the time, Shane Waldron, had reportedly left Caleb to his own devices, without any coaching points that would help him progress through his rookie year.

Williams showed little progression over the course of the 2024 season, and once it was revealed that he hadn’t been getting the appropriate guidance, those struggles made more sense.

However, the lack of coaching means the Bears QB now has to correct a lot of things, including some bad habits and the way in which he reads a defense.

At training camp, Williams has supposedly struggled more than the other two quarterbacks on the roster, Tyson Bagent and veteran Case Keenum.

Rich Eisen asked analyst Albert Breer about Caleb’s progression, and the results were concerning. Breer said:

“I think Caleb’s got a ways to go. It did not look good the day I was there. When I talked to people there about why it looked that way it’s because they’re trying to make Caleb drink through a firehose.”

Breer continued: “Developmentally, he had a long way to go coming out of USC, then he had the sideways rookie year, and you can see when you watch, the difference in the speed of the operation when Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent are in there versus where it is with Caleb Williams.”

Breer went on to explain that the plan is to continue to overload Williams with defensive looks and information, in order to speed up his process before narrowing it all down.

Fans are concerned that the number one overall pick still looks exactly as he did in his final year at USC, trying to play a version of backyard football at the very highest level.

Williams made a name for himself as someone who could make plays on the fly, extending the play and moving into space before firing downfield. In the NFL, those opportunities are a lot harder to come by, and Williams has struggled to adjust to reading the field from the pocket and making the right read before it collapses.

The Chicago Bears are built to win now, but Caleb Williams might not be ready

This is almost a second rookie season for Caleb Williams. He didn’t learn much in his first year, and some of that falls on the failures of the coaching staff and the franchise for putting their prize QB in that position.

However, some of it also falls on Caleb. He has to be able to adapt his game to play at the NFL level, and Ben Johnson now faces an uphill battle in nurturing his talent in order to help him do that.

This Chicago Bears team is stacked with talent. They have a great group of wide receivers, two talented pass-catching tight ends, and have now invested heavily in constructing a capable offensive line.

The defense features several game-changing players, including pass rusher Montez Sweat, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

That said, sometimes you can only be as good as your franchise quarterback, and right now, that is a concern for the Chicago Bears.