CHICAGO — In the NFL, nobody wins without a game-changing quarterback. The Chicago Bears understand the nuance of that statement impossibly well.
Credit general manager Ryan Poles for knowing when to fold ‘em, setting the Bears up for the league’s equivalent of winning the jackpot.
Poles positioned the Bears to contend with a three-year plan focused on finding the right quarterback and surrounding him with a supporting cast that could carry its own weight.
Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, is the grand prize ready for his grand unveiling at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Expectations in Chicago and beyond are through the roof for Williams, who revealed snippets of the elite talent that drew Poles and the Bears to him during an abbreviated run in the preseason that included a 44-yard touchdown run and a rapid connection with draft classmate Rome Odunze.
Poles, an undrafted offensive lineman with the Bears who became a scout for the Chiefs under Scott Pioli in 2009, was in Kansas City when Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017. Chicago infamously drafted North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 pick, eight spots ahead of Mahomes.
A number of skills and traits Williams possesses pushed the former Oklahoma and USC quarterback to the spotlight peak of the draft. He’s regularly compared to current starters — Mahomes and Justin Herbert of the Chargers to name a few — which is one indication of why the Bears believe they could be headed to unchartered territory. No Bears quarterback has delivered a 4,000-yard season or had more than 30 touchdown passes.
To land Williams, Poles benefited from a shrewd plan requiring the willingness to hit reset if Justin Fields failed to win the team over and progress in 2023. To prepare the launchpad for the franchise, Poles traded the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, passing on the chance to select Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud, and started building a foundation for the potential shot at scoring a franchise quarterback in April.
First, he scouted Williams and USC up close and personal. He was there when Williams paused his pregame warmup, sprinted to the sideline and shook hands with Joe Montana. That was in October, and signs were starting to add up that the Carolina Panthers might oblige — sinking to the bottom of the NFL standings to maximize the value of the 2024 first-round pick they gave the Bears the year prior. Carolina limped to a 2-15 final record, the league’s worst, and the Bears were exactly where Poles wanted to be.
In meetings with Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, the part of the evaluation that rang in echoes was Williams’ view of being a potential savior in Chicago. He didn’t shy away. In the same way the 49ers found cool in Montana and the Bengals returned to the Super Bowl with their own one-of-a-kind Joe, Williams reminded the Bears he was built for the moment.
The lights come up Sunday in Williams’ much-anticipated debut against the Tennessee Titans, when Poles won’t be the only one with his finger on the pulse of the QB.
“I kind of say it’s their heartbeat,” Poles said. “Does their heartbeat skyrocket in those pressure situations? Or do you see this calm? We’re not going to know until we’re in it, in terms of the pro side of it. But that’s what I look for. I want the game to slow down, for there to be a level of poise, and again, I’ll go back to is there that same combination of taking what a defense gives you, leaning on your talent and then when you’re forced to be special, be special.”
Eberflus found Williams to be the antithesis of public perception labels of him in their first meetings before the draft. Called a prima donna, pariah and diva, all Williams pointed to was “getting to work” and “proving himself.”
“We’ve all been (on) teams before, but there’s people that come into those situations and they try too hard. It’s like, man, it’s awkward. It’s hard to buy into that. Then there’s guys that they can navigate that so naturally because they’re authentic, and it’s real. And that’s what he’s done,” Poles said.
Poles said it’s hard to predict what Mahomes might have done as a rookie. He sat most of the season behind Alex Smith. A big part of the reason Williams is jumping directly into the fire is the assembled cast around him with All-Pro Keenan Allen, No. 1 WR DJ Moore and Odunze sure to bring security when plans must move off-script.
Moore said Williams is “easy to follow” after watching him work. He was voted one of eight team captains for 2024, and teammates pointed back to what the former Heisman Trophy winner said at his first minicamp.
“To be a great leader, you’ve got to learn how to follow first,” he said. “Right now, I’m following all the vets, following all the coaches. I’m listening. Having both ears open, and my mouth shut. Just kind of sitting back and listening. And then when I get to the point of when I learn everything, when I learn the ways of how we do the culture, the playbook, and what the offensive line, receivers, running backs, and tight ends are all doing then you can start taking the lead.”
Front-office executives polled by ESPN picked Williams as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and odds are in line with that thinking with Williams ahead of No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels of the Commanders by a wide margin.
Daniels and Bo Nix, selected 12th overall by the Broncos, are also ticketed to start and fix long-standing leaks at the position for their teams.
Drake Maye (third, Patriots), Michael Penix Jr. (eighth, Falcons) and J.J. McCarthy (10th, Vikings) are viewed as franchise quarterbacks down the line.
Not every franchise has the fortune of drafting first in a year with a talent of Williams’ kind.
And not every franchise agrees with the premise of playing the “best” player regardless of experience level. The Patriots said Maye “outplayed” journeyman Jacoby Brissett in the preseason, but there’s another side of the long view with QB development. Not every quarterback is blessed with the supporting cast Poles collected before clearing Williams for launch.
For now, Maye is heading up the “show team,” coach Jerod Mayo said, and will be asked to learn by teaching certain elements of the game plan. Mayo said he’s confident that is an effective introductory method because he used it himself as a top-10 draft pick of the Patriots.