INDIANAPOLIS — Top quarterback prospect Caleb Williams shot down speculation that he was averse to playing for the Bears and he had no intention of maneuvering to force his way to a different team.
Instead, he said he was eager to meet with them Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine and would embrace being drafted by them.
Williams did an interview with ESPN that was published Wednesday, and it was the first time he spoke publicly since declaring for the draft. After two exceptional seasons at USC, including winning the Heisman Trophy in 2022, he has long been the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft.
The Bears hold the top pick, and it appears they plan to draft him and trade quarterback Justin Fields.
“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” Williams told ESPN. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they’d be excited.”
Williams is scheduled to speak to the media Friday in Indianapolis, but won’t work out at the combine. He is expected to meet with several teams.
Those meetings typically last 20 minutes. The more in-depth interviews will happen at USC pro day next month and a likely visit to Halas Hall.
“The one here really is to get a feel of a player’s personality,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles told the Sun-Times. “We just do the putt-putt thing and the darts to try to relax them a little bit. It’s a pretty intense situation, interviewing. We try to pull the guard down: ‘OK, we’re going to have a conversation about life, about ball.’ Watch some tape so we can get some feedback on what he was taught to do and how he sees things. It’s not a ton that you get from 20 minutes, but it’s just a small piece of the puzzle.”
Poles said Tuesday he had “no concerns at all” about rumors that Williams didn’t want the Bears to draft him and touted the appeal of their infrastructure.
While the Bears underwhelmed last season, they’re well ahead of most teams that would be picking first in the draft. Their own pick is No. 9 after going 7-10 last season; the top pick came via a trade with the Panthers last year.
Williams told ESPN he is looking for “a healthy situation — in the facility, with the players — and just a place that really wants to win.” The Bears are better prepared to offer that than several other teams eying quarterbacks early in the draft, like his hometown Commanders, who went 4-13 last season.
“I’m not pushing any agenda,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, the Bears have the last say. Regardless of how I feel, I’m not pushing an agenda of, ‘Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don’t want to go.’ I’m excited for whatever comes.”
He laid the groundwork for Chicago to welcome him by mentioning his love of deep-dish pizza and his respect for sports icons Michael Jordan and Walter Payton.
“The legends live on,” Williams said. “That’s my goal of playing football. It’s not money. It’s not fame. It’s to be immortal. I want to reach that sense of being a legend... It’s appealing to be in a city like that. With legends that you’ve looked up to ... reach for the standard they set and try to do anything to get there.”
Williams threw 72 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions over his two seasons at USC. He averaged 302.8 yards passing per game and completed 68.6% of his passes last season, and Poles raved about his talent this week by saying he “has pieces that are similar” to Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.
Poles also talked openly about the possibility of trading Fields, saying he hoped to “do right by Justin” and get a deal done before free agency opens March 11 if the Bears decide to go that direction.
