Three Reasons Why the Bears Will be Picked for HBO's Hard Knocks

The Chicago Bears are still in contention to be featured on the training camp edition of "Hard Knocks," despite some confusion caused by HBO's announcement of the New York Giants being selected for the show's first off-season series, which will run from January 2024 to May 2024. The Bears once again meet all the eligibility criteria for the series this year. So here are three reasons why I believe the Bears will be selected for "Hard Knocks".

Caleb Williams

I wanted to address the most obvious reason first: Caleb Williams is already a superstar. Everything he does attracts a lot of attention, whether it's an interview with GQ on YouTube or a podcast appearance. His presence means big numbers. The league should pick Chicago for Hard Knocks this year, purely for financial reasons as well. Williams arrival makes selecting Chicago for Hard Knocks a really easy choice.

Big Market

Another reason is simply the city of Chicago. As one of the largest markets in the NFL, it makes sense to choose the Bears as this year's featured team. Bears fans are known for their loyalty, regardless of the team's performance. However, there's genuine optimism surrounding the Bears for the 2024 season. Therefore, it would make sense for the league to finally make the Bears appear on the show and capitalize on the rare state the franchise is currently in.

Storylines

The Bears are a compelling choice for this year's show for many reasons. The franchise has several intriguing storylines:

• Two top 10 draft picks in Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams
• The best punter in the 2024 draft, who happens to be Australian
• The addition of Keenan Allen, DeAndre Swift, Kevin Byard, and others
• A young, exciting defense that could top 5 in the NFL
• One of the most genuine/open general managers in the NFL
• The transformation of head coach Matt Eberflus (halfway joking here)
• And a lot more

The Bears are a team that could be both dangerous and incredibly fun to follow. Watching these players and team personnel behind the scenes each week would be fascinating. Among the other eligible teams, the Bears stand out in terms of watchability and it's not really close.