Caleb Williams may well be the consensus choice at this point as the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, but that does not mean he is without detractors. Count former NFL running back Merril Hoge as one of the analysts who does not believe that Williams is worthy of the No. 1 draft choice.

Hoge said he watched Caleb Williams in three games last season and did not think he was worth the top spot in the draft.

“The one thing that is clear: He is not special,” Hoge said. “He's not something unique like a Patrick Mahomes, and I hope the Bears don't think, ‘Let’s try to make up for our mistake when we passed up Patrick Mahomes and go get the [next] Patrick Mahomes.' This kid is not Patrick Mahomes. He ain't even remotely close to that.”

Instead of drafting Williams, Hoge believes the Bears have a solid quarterback in Justin Fields. The former Ohio State star has worked under multiple offensive coordinators and will have another new one in 2024 as the Bears hired Shane Waldron to build a more effective offense after a successful run with Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks.

Most observers believe the Waldron hiring means the Bears will bring in a highly touted rookie quarterback, but Hoge believes that Fields has shown enough improvement that the Bears should stick by him and stay away from Caleb Williams.

Fields demonstrated improvement in 2023 as he completed 227 of 370 passes for 2,562 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions along with 657 rushing yards, but there are questions about his decision-making and passing accuracy.