Lincoln Riley Thinks Teams Are Trying To Scare Bears Away From Caleb Williams

It isn't even April yet, and the rumors surrounding the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams are already out of control. Most center around the idea that the USC quarterback doesn't want to play in Chicago and would prefer to go somewhere else. No team wants to draft a player who has no desire to play for you. Maybe GM Ryan Poles should consider alternatives if that is the case. Here's the thing. This is nothing new to Lincoln Riley. The USC head coach has seen this entire soap opera play out several times in the past. It's the standard pre-draft playbook.

That is to say if teams not picking high want a player they love to fall, they have to put out rumors questioning their character, work ethic, or commitment to playing for certain organizations. Riley made it clear on the Pat McAfee Show that he thinks it's all a smokescreen.

It's not a surprise Riley would have this stance. After all, he's had three previous quarterbacks go from his program in the 1st round. Patrick Mahomes went #10 in 2017, Baker Mayfield went #1 in 2018, and Kyler Murray went #1 in 2019. All three of them were bombarded with such rumors. None of them held true since all three went on to become good quarterbacks in the NFL. He does not doubt that if the Bears ignore the noise and focus on what Williams can do on the field, they won't regret taking him #1 overall this spring.

Lincoln Riley knows quarterbacks. The Bears should remember that.

Three of his former players made the playoffs this season. Patrick Mahomes is aiming for his third Lombardi trophy. Mayfield guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an unlikely playoff win. The guy he beat? Jalen Hurts, who revived his college career under Riley at Oklahoma. While nobody can say the head coach is perfect, his eye for the QB position is unquestioned. He insists Williams is the real deal. Anybody who has a modicum of intelligence will see that. All they have to do is weather the media storm and tune out the noise.

Poles even said he deleted his Twitter and other social media in preparation for the coming off-season. It seems as if he knew what was coming. That leads one to think the Bears GM already had plans to take Williams once it was clear he held the #1 pick in the draft. These words from Lincoln Riley should only reinforce his resolve. If he is convinced Williams is a franchise-caliber quarterback, no amount of baseless rumors should steer him away from that course.