Currently, all eyes in the NFL world are fixed upon the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, where the Chicago Bears have the number one overall pick–courtesy of a 2023 trade with the Carolina Panthers, who finished with the worst record in the league this past season–and are widely expected to take former USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams with that selection. Most of the chatter in the draft has revolved around what the next few teams in line will do with their respective selections, but it appears that the Bears may not be one hundred percent on selecting Williams as their man to replace Justin Fields, who was traded in the offseason after an up and down stint in Chicago.

Recently, former NFL player and current Bears general manager Ryan Poles broke down his thought process heading into the draft, and didn't provide a whole lot of insight as to whether Williams is indeed in Chicago's sights.

“We know what we’re gonna do, but everyone’s gonna have to wait until Thursday,” said Poles, per Stacey Dales of the NFL Network on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

The quarterback position for the Bears became vacant when Poles and the rest of the Chicago brass opted to trade former starter Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for some (shockingly low) draft compensation. Fields had an up and down stint in Chicago, struggling to stay healthy and times and showing flashes of the tools that made him a top pick in the 2021 Draft but also not fully being able to put everything together. He is widely expected to back up Wilson in Pittsburgh.

A huge decision for the Bears

It's likely that if he was eligible to enter the draft a year ago, that Caleb Williams would have been the number one overall pick in 2023. The Heisman Trophy winner began his college career in Oklahoma and then followed head coach Lincoln Riley after he abandoned that university in favor of the sunny skies of Southern California, taking over as the new head coach/quarterback duo for USC.

There, Williams dazzled NFL scouts with his impressive combination of speed, accuracy, arm strength, and IQ of the game, all of which led him to be billed as one of the most highly touted quarterback prospects in years.

There has been little doubt both throughout the college football 2023 season and this current NFL offseason as to who the Bears would select with their number one overall pick. For a time, there was speculation that Chicago might opt to keep Fields and trade their number one pick, but that obviously went out the window once Fields was sent to Pittsburgh.

In any case, the Bears have already made some additions to help Williams out upon his presumptive arrival, including most notably the signing of former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, helping bolster a receiver core that wasn't exactly otherworldly this past season.

The NFL Draft is slated to take place on Thursday evening.