Mark Potash

Even Caleb Williams was asking Poles why the Bears have had such a hard time developing a quality quarterback. But the Bears’ GM has responded by not only getting Williams, but a solid supporting cast that should put him in a position to succeed.

It remains to be seen if Williams and Odunze will be as good as advertised, but draft analysts were virtually unanimous about the Bears’ draft: They took advantage of a tremendous opportunity. “There was only one rational path for the Beasr to take, and they took it,”

The Bears tried an ill-fated apprenticeship plan with Mitch Trubisky in 2017 (behind Mike Glennon) and Justin Fields in 2021 (behind Andy Dalton). But the 2024 Bears are set up for Williams as the Week 1 starter.

The Bears have been here before in their search for a quarterback — Jay Cutler, Mitch Trubisky, Justin Fields — and have found only disappointment. But Williams not only is a cut above as a prospect, the Bears are set up for him to succeed where others failed.

The Sun-Times’ experts pick whom they think the team will take with the No. 9 pick in Thursday night’s draft.

Does the USC quarterback have the “it” factor that makes everyone around him better and tilts the field in his favor in crunch time? There’s no doubt Poles sees something special in Williams.

Though Bears GM Ryan Poles has played it coy, selecting the USC quarterback has gone from presumed to inevitable. “I feel really good about our process and where we’re headed,” Poles said. “We know what we’re going to do.”

If Ryan Poles is right about USC quarterback Caleb Williams in Shane Waldron’s offense, drafting the Marvin Harrisons of the world won’t be as critical as it usually is for the Bears. More often than not, elite QBs make elite receivers rather than the other way around.

After a teardown and promising first steps of the rebuild, Poles’ future still hinges on getting the quarterback right. It’s a daunting task, but with the No. 1 pick and recently acquired playmakers, Poles has opportunities to develop a franchise QB that his predecessors didn’t have.