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NFL Insider Slams Caleb Williams' Bears Rookie Year Criticism

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 4:39 PM ET

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams may have enjoyed a somewhat uneven rookie season in 2024 as the club's no-brainer No. 1 pick in that year's draft, but as an elite athlete with great passing instincts, he still projects to become the most talented signal caller in the franchise's checkered history at the position.

Prior to Williams' acquisition, Chicago's most talented quarterback ever was likely former one-time Pro Bowler Jay Cutler, who had a rocket arm but often not the decision-making wherewithal to make the Bears perennial Super Bowl contenders.

In a starry quarterback class, Williams eventually got overshadowed by Washington Commanders signal caller Jayden Daniels, that year's No. 2 draft pick, who was voted the Associated Press' 2024 Offensive Player of the Year.

More alarmingly, however, Williams didn't even finish among the top five vote recipients for the honor.

Per Nick Shook of NFL.com, Daniels notched 49 of 50 first-place votes, good for 495 points. Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers came in second with 214 points, ahead of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (153), Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr. (82) and New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (51).

New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye also had a more encouraging start to his rookie season, albeit with the massive caveat that Williams was grappling with a horrific Bears offensive line that provided minimal protection.

During a new appearance on the "CHGO Bears" podcast, Pro Football Network's Hub Arkush spoke out in favor of Williams' rookie season.

"I thought he got treated very unfairly on his rookie year."@Hub_Arkush says he liked what he's seen from Caleb Williams so far: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WOre8sjyZv
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) July 7, 2025

"I thought he got treated very unfairly on his rookie year," Arkush said. "He didn't have a bad rookie year. Look at his numbers. The record was bad, but that's because the team was bad, that's because the coaching was bad. But you look at his performance, he didn't play badly. He didn't play like Jayden Daniels did, he didn't take over the league, but he couldn't with what he had around him. And I'm excited with what I saw from his rookie year."

The Bears fired former head coach Matt Eberflus midseason after a 4-8 season start in 2024 and a 14-32 overall record in Chicago, replacing him with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown on an interim basis.

In the 2025 offseason, the Bears brought in highly touted longtime Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to serve as their new head coach.

"Now that they've added so much talent around him, and they've added, I think, a much better coaching staff, I'm pretty excited about what I think you're gonna see from him this year," Arkush added.

Across 17 contests for the 5-12 Bears last year, the 6-foot-1 USC product passed for 3,541 yards on a 62.5% completion percentage, notching 20 touchdowns against six picks. He logged an 87.8 passer rating and a 46.7 quarterback rating.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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