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The Chicago Bears have struggled through the first three weeks thanks to their quarterback Caleb Williams. Former Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones criticized the 2024 No. 1 overall pick for his subpar play on The Facility.
“Why do these other quarterbacks when you watch them play, look like they know what they’re doing?” Jones said. “Right now, Caleb Williams is doing stupid stuff. You’re on the right hash waiting five seconds to throw an out route, outside the numbers on the left side. That’s crazy.
“You have three turnovers, you had two turnovers last week, you’re turning the ball over. To me, he doesn’t look like he knows where he’s supposed to go with the football, and if he does he’s super, super late. That’s not the Caleb Williams we saw in college.”
He had quite the resumé in college, as Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. While his college statistics popped off, the transition to the NFL hasn't been seamless. Although Bears teammate Keenan Allen saw Williams's confidence, it hasn't exactly been there. Through three games, the Bears quarterback has 630 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Can the Bears, and Caleb Williams get on the right track?
In the Bears' loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he threw for 363 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Despite the loss, it was a career-high in passing yards and touchdowns for Williams. He was expected to be a generational quarterback talent and three weeks in, Williams looks like a regular rookie quarterback learning how to play in the NFL.
Other former No. 1 picks also struggled in their rookie season. For example, former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning struggled. He threw 1,043 yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions while starting seven games. Manning turned into a Hall-of-Fame quarterback.
This isn't to say that Williams will have the same trajectory as Manning. However, Williams has raw talent that the NFL hasn't seen in quite some time. His unique blend of size, arm strength, accuracy, and poise is hard to deny. Also, the Bears O-line issues are causing some of the problems Williams is facing. The same issues are the ones that hurt Justin Fields progression in Chicago.
Regardless, the talent is there. Everyone saw the talent in college when Williams had time to throw. When he feels comfortable behind the line of scrimmage, more progression will come. For now, growing pains will occur.
