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Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is taking over the Chicago Bears with hopes of getting the most out of Caleb Williams.
However, an excerpt from a new book indicates that Williams and his family tried to avoid being drafted by the team first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
In the months leading up to the NFL draft, Williams and his father Carl admitted their concerns to author Seth Wickersham as part of his new book, "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback" which will be published in September.
Williams and his father took several measures to try to avoid landing in Chicago, which was coached by Matt Eberflus at the time. Carl Williams reportedly met with Archie Manning, the father of Eli who was in a similar predicament when he was drafted No. 1 overall and traded to the New York Giants.
"Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die," Carl Williams told Wickersham, via ESPN.
Fortunes have begun to change in Chicago, as the Bears hired Johnson in the offseason to replace Eberflus and Declan Doyle to take over for Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator.
According to the report, Williams met with the Minnesota Vikings and hit it off with Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell at the Combine. The meeting went so well that the soon-to-be top pick told his father he wanted to play for Minnesota. The Vikings wound up selecting J.J. McCarthy 10th overall.
Additionally, the Williams family considered Caleb signing in the United Football League for the 2024 season before entering the 2025 campaign as a free agent. Carl Williams also had issues with the way that rookie contracts are structured in the NFL.
The Bears never wavered in their desire to draft Williams and wound up doing just that. Wickersham's book offers a behind-the-scenes look at all of this throughout the pre-draft process, as well as insight from and access to numerous other passers both past and present.
According to ESPN, "The forthcoming book, to be published in September, offers a detailed account of what it means to be a quarterback at various levels, from high school to college to the NFL, and what it's like for legends in retirement. It features unprecedented access with dozens of quarterbacks and generational greats such as John Elway, Johnny Unitas, Warren Moon, members of the Manning family and Steve Young, among others. It also includes current signal-callers such as Kirk Cousins and Drake Maye."
In addition to all of the above-mentioned passers, ESPN's report indicatest that the book will shed new light on Texas' recruitment of prized quarterback prospect Arch Manning.
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