The Chicago Bears are thrilled to have rookie QB Caleb Williams as their next franchise guy. Chicago has historically struggled to find a franchise QB and has succeeded primarily on the backs of its incredible defenses. Bears general manager Ryan Poles recently spoke with Adam Schefter and had some interesting things to say comparing Williams to Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
Poles spoke with Schefter on a recent episode of The Adam Schefter Podcast. During their conversation, Schefter asked Poles about being involved in drafting both Mahomes and Caleb Williams. Poles was an executive with the Chiefs when they drafted Mahomes.
“No it was actually a lot different just because Caleb just had so much hype from high school,” Poles said. “So he had been in the spotlight, he had been talked about so much and really his last year, the narrative was how bad this past season was, which when you really watch it, you can put that together and you see the talent throughout the last three years.”
Poles was quick to explain the differences in each player's pre-draft process. Williams was always expected to be a top pick, whereas Mahomes flew up the draft boards late in the process.
“So that was a little bit different, because I think Pat slowly started to get higher, higher in the draft,” Poles continued. “I know when we had made that trade, we were praying he was going to make it there and he did, so it was a little bit different, this was more high profile coming out than Pat’s situation.”
The Bears infamously drafted Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft ahead of Patrick Mahomes. Hopefully they got it right this time with Williams.
Bears will be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks later this summer
The NFL and NFL Films have selected the Chicago Bears to be featured on this year's edition of Hard Knocks.
Hard Knocks provides NFL fans with unparalleled access to one NFL team during their training camp each year. The past two teams to be featured on the program were the Detroit Lions in 2022 and the New York Jets in 2023.
Chicago is an awesome choice because there are so many possible storylines to cover. Caleb Williams and the Bears' revamped offense will of course take center stage. We could also learn more about head coach Matt Eberflus and possibly get some more details about Chicago's new stadium proposal.
Poles was excited to receive the news.
“The 2024 training camp will be big for us in preparation for achieving our season goals and we look forward to bringing the fans at home along for the journey,” Poles said.
The folks over at NFL films also sound excited about the project.
“We are honored to feature such an iconic NFL franchise on ‘Hard Knocks,'” NFL Films Senior Director and Supervising Producer Shannon Furman said via the Bears' website. “The Chicago Bears have a talented roster, coaching staff and front office all determined to match the expectations of a hungry fanbase. We are thankful to the entire organization for opening their doors to us for what is sure to be an exciting training camp this summer.”
The first episode will air on a Tuesday night, August 6th.
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