With the 2024 NFL Draft underway, it’s time to hand out some instant grades, as we’ll do all night for every pick of the first round on Thursday night — you can find our grades here. But if you’re wondering specifically about your team’s pick and how our Christian D’Andrea and Robert Zeglinski graded them? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s their take on Caleb Williams:
Caleb Williams gives the perennially downtrodden Bears a chance at something most of their fans have never seen: a legitimate superstar quarterback.
There is nothing the former USC talisman can’t do. He has an elite pocket presence. He can throw and create magic from the most ridiculous and absurd angles. He’s got an absolute cannon of an arm. Perhaps most importantly, like all the greats, he is capable of putting his team on his back even under the most adverse circumstances. With him at quarterback, you are never truly out of a game.
Williams walks into a Chicago situation tailor-made for him to have success from the get-go. The pressure to turn the Bears into a championship contender will be tremendous, at times likely even overwhelming. Many have crumbled under these immense expectations, and understandably so. But Williams has the requisite talent and the moxie to finally break a disturbing quarterback trend that has flat-out tortured Bears fans for decades. The best part is that he seems to understand all of this, and he isn’t shying away from the moment at all.
If anyone can become the first great Bears quarterback of the modern era, it’s him.
Grade: A+
For all of our NFL Draft grades on Day 1, click here.
