Caleb Williams is No. 1 in more ways than one.
The Bears’ first-round draft pick not only was the first overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night, but he’s No. 1 on the depth chart as well.
For better or worse, the Bears aren’t planning on playing the apprenticeship game with Williams as they did with previous first-round picks Mitch Trubisky (No. 2 overall in 2017) and Justin Fields (No. 11 in 2021). With Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien ahead of him, Williams presumably will be No. 1 on the depth chart the moment he steps inside Halas Hall.
That has been the trend with quarterbacks chosen No. 1 overall in recent years. Since Matthew Stafford in 2009, nine of 11 quarterbacks picked No. 1 overall have started in Week 1, including the last four (the Panthers’ Bryce Young in 2023, the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence in 2021, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow in 2020 and the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray in 2019.
The exceptions are the Browns’ Baker Mayfield, who sat behind journeyman Tyrod Taylor for two games in 2018 before starting in Game 3, and the Rams’ Jared Goff, who sat behind journeyman Case Keenum in 2016 before starting in Game 10.
Exceptions like Mayfield and Taylor were actually the rule 20 years ago. The Raiders’ Jamarcus Russell (Game 16 in 2007), the 49ers’ Alex Smith (Game 5 in 2005) and the Giants’ Eli Manning (Game 10 in 2004) were backups to begin their rookie seasons. And in 2003, the Bengals’ Carson Palmer was the last No. 1 overall pick who didn’t play a game as a rookie.
Times have changed, and the importance of having a “franchise” quarterback has put more and more pressure on teams to hurry the development of all first-round quarterbacks — not just the ones drafted first overall. But the results are mixed at best, and it remains to be seen if playing a rookie right away is a good thing or not.
There’s still something to be said for patience. It’s probably not a coincidence that the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes quickly developed into future Hall of Fame quarterbacks after sitting behind a veteran starter as a rookie. Rodgers, in fact, waited three years behind Brett Favre in 2005-07. Mahomes sat behind veteran Alex Smith (himself a No. 1 overall pick) in 2017.
But that worked because both Rodgers and Smith were behind proven quarterbacks in outstanding offenses — a pretty good mentorship situation. The Packers tried it again, with Jordan Love sitting behind Rodgers for two seasons in Matt LaFleur’s offense. After a shaky start, Love blossomed into a star in his first season as a starter, passing for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and a 96.1 passer rating.
The Bears under John Fox tried that apprenticeship tack with Trubisky in 2017, making him the No. 3 quarterback behind starter Mike Glennon and Mark Sanchez when training camp opened. Trubisky beat out Sanchez for the backup job, then started in Game 5 after Glennon had eight turnovers in the first four games.
With Matt Nagy — who was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator when Mahomes was a rookie — the Bears again tried the apprenticeship plan with Fields, signing veteran Andy Dalton to start. Fields became the starter in Week 3 after Dalton was injured the previous game and ended up starting 10 games as a rookie, with Dalton twice replacing him as the starter.
As it turns out, the apprenticeship plan doesn’t work as well in a developing (or substandard) offense, behind a starter who is learning it as well.
In lieu of that, the Bears have tried to give Williams offensive support that neither Trubisky nor Fields had as a rookie. With wide receivers Keenan Allen and DJ Moore, tight end Cole Kmet, running back D’Andre Swift and a potential offensive-line anchor in 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright, Williams has a running start heading into his rookie season.
