During his time at Oklahoma and USC, Caleb Williams was referred to as the next great quarterback in the NFL. Williams had a very successful college career where he won a Heisman trophy in 2022 and had his number 13 retired by the USC Trojans.
As expected, Williams was ranked the number one quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. He topped a QB class that included Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy, Michael Pennix and Bo Nix.
Williams was taken first overall in the 2024 draft by the Chicago Bears, who had just moved on from former first-round pick Justin Fields.
With the addition of Williams, Chicago was expected to be a major contender in the stacked NFC north division. The Bears also have elite offensive players such as DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet and D’Andre Swift.
However, the Bears have struggled in 2024. After the week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, the Bears tied a franchise record ten consecutive losses.
Because of these struggles this season, head coach Matt Eberflus was fired midseason, the first time ever in franchise history that the Bears have fired a coach midseason.
Along with the coaching struggles this year, Williams has endured much scrutiny from fans, NFL experts and the media alike. Williams has been called a bust and not a franchise quarterback from fans.
However, people seem to forget that Williams is a rookie quarterback and not the second coming of Jesus Christ. Williams is still trying to find his footing in the league and still learning how offenses work in the NFL.
It’s only his first season in the league and people are already starting to throw him under the bus. Williams isn’t the only quarterback in NFL history to struggle in their first season.
Legendary quarterbacks like John Elway and Peyton Manning both struggled in their rookie seasons. Both QBs threw more interceptions than touchdown passes during their first seasons.
Even modern, pro bowl quarterbacks such as Josh Allen and Jared Goff had problems in their first season. Allen and the Buffalo Bills missed the playoffs and Goff didn’t even register a win for the Los Angeles Rams during his rookie year.
It doesn’t help that Williams is running for his life in almost every game he plays. The Chicago Bears lead the NFL in sacks allowed this year with 67 sacks allowed.
In their 6-3 loss to Seattle, Williams was under pressure the whole game. During Chicago’s final drive, Williams was under pressure during two crucial fourth down plays: a 4 & 5 play that was converted on a pass to DJ Moore and a 4 & 10 play that was intercepted and ended the game.
The conversion play was mighty impressive by Williams, but people will only remember the interception to Tariq Woolen.
It’s unfair to Williams to receive this much scrutiny during his learning year in the NFL. It doesn’t help that Chicago continues to disappoint year in and year out with their failed head coaching hires and terrible offensive line.
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