Everyone Missed The Best Part Of Caleb Williams' Recent Breakout

The Chicago Bears have gotten a lot of grief for their quarterback decisions in recent years. That is fair. When you draft guys like Cade McNown, Rex Grossman, and Mitch Trubisky, it tends to erode people's opinion of your sanity. Trading up for Justin Fields, who turned out to be a disappointment, didn't help matters. All of it boiled down to a lack of faith they knew what they were doing when drafting Caleb Williams. Though most experts agreed he was the best prospect in the class, the fact Chicago took him made them second-guess those assessments.

However, time has proven that maybe the Bears' eye for quarterbacks isn't as terrible as people thought. Adam Jahns of The Athletic revealed as much after the team's big win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. In each of the past two games, the Bears have won in blowouts. Each time, the opponent had to send their backup quarterback out in the 4th quarter for garbage time. One was former #1 overall pick Bryce Young, and the other was former 15th overall pick Mac Jones.

Maybe the Bears' eye for Caleb Williams was sharper than people think.

Let us review. In 2021, the Bears traded up in the 1st round to get a quarterback. Fields and Jones were their options. Many felt Jones, who'd trounced Fields in the national championship game, was a safer option. However, the Bears felt Fields was more capable. Time has proven them correct. Jones crashed and burned in New England after a solid rookie season and was eventually traded to Jacksonville. As for Young, the Bears passed on taking him last year with the #1 pick, instead trading it to Carolina for a massive haul of picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Young lasted only 18 games as the starter before losing his job to Andy Dalton. Chicago got to showcase Caleb Williams, who they got thanks to the 1st round pick in that trade. Passing on a quarterback they felt couldn't cut it in the NFL is one thing. Drafting a better one with part of the package you sold his rights for is doubly delicious. This league can humble you frighteningly fast. Yes, the Bears haven't been great at identifying good QBs for years. However, they seem more than capable of knowing which ones to avoid as well.