The Chicago Bears have a bit of a conundrum to solve in the offseason. They hold the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. USC star quarterback Caleb Williams is the consensus first overall pick, but they still have another first-round quarterback in Justin Fields. Do they stick with Fields and build around him, or do they pull the plug and start the Williams era?

Well, a good portion of the NFL fanbase wants the Bears to trade Justin Fields and start anew with Caleb Williams. That includes renowed draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. In his latest 2024 NFL mock draft, Kiper outlined why the Bears should trade Fields to make room for Williams.

In a nutshell, Kiper's two reasons for choosing Williams and Fields is simple. The first (and most obvious) reason is that Williams is a much better passer than Fields. Yes, the Bears quarterback is elite on the ground, and he's also solid on deep passes. However, his 60% completion rate does not inspire confidence in today's pass-heavy age. Fields just hasn't shown enough consistency to believe in him as a passer. Williams is already a much better passer now.

The second subtle reason is that it allows the Bears to “reset” the quarterback clock. Here's Kiper explaining what this means:

“Taking Williams resets the Bears' quarterback clock, which matters in an age when having a quarterback on a rookie contract means teams can build a better roster around them. If they keep Fields, they'd have to decide on his fifth-year option this spring and then extend his contract within the next year. Are they ready to do that? With a rookie, they'd get four years at a much more inexpensive cap number before having to pay up.”

Ultimately, this decision rests on the Bears' faith in Fields. The quarterback is quite the polarizing figure amongst fans. Some believe that Fields does not have the talent, while others think he's been failed by everyone around him. Does Chicago believe in Fields' ability to turn his career around? Or is the allure of Caleb Williams simply too good to pass up?