The Caleb Williams Rookie Experience was on full display at Bears mini-camp Wednesday.
In one 7-on-7 drill, Williams — the No. 1 overall pick in the draft — threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
On the very next play, Williams threw a deep ball for a touchdown to wide receiver Velus Jones (!), who made a diving catch for a 50-plus-yard play.
That pretty much has been Williams’ introduction to the NFL in a nutshell. Good plays. Bad plays. Good days. Bad days. And the experience is complete with all the offseason cliches: It’s a learning experience. Iron sharpens iron. Work in progress. The defense is ahead of the offense.
And while many fans can’t get enough of the details, the reality is the extenuating circumstances outweigh just about anything he does. It’s June. It’s practice. The players are in shorts. There’s no hitting. It’s not real football. And key players on both sides of the ball have been out.
It’s a part of the process. But the magnifying glass on Williams is so intense, it not only exaggerates everything he does, but distorts it. Predicting Williams’ success in the NFL is an educated guess at this point. Just as Justin Fields looked like a different animal from Mitch Trubisky, Williams looks like a different animal from Fields.
That’s a stepladder upgrade in quarterback ability. But with so many X-factors involved — Shane Waldron’s offense, the offensive line and pass protection, and of course, the upgrade-on-paper weapons — Williams will not be defined in the least until the regular season at the earliest. As indicators, everything that happens in the offseason is dubious.
That said, there’s another reality in place at Halas Hall: The offseason upgrades around Williams — from Waldron to Allen and Odunze to right tackle Darnell Wright being in his second season — have raised the bar in the third season under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.
Regardless of what he’s done in the offseason program, Williams should be a more productive passer as a rookie in a new offense in 2024 than Fields ever was as a Bear. And clearing that bar would be merely a first step for Williams.
For now, Williams is still in the honeymoon phase where everything is beautiful. And even with his football standing undefined, there is something about him that makes him different. Minutes after he was drafted, he invented the “Bear Claw” — a simple, on-brand hand gesture that had people wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
He’s a big hit wherever he goes — Wrigley Field, the Sky game, at Old Crow Smokehouse in Wrigleyville — and every story is a good one, like staying at Top Golf until 1 a.m. to compete with Cole Kmet and other teammates.
“Great competitor,” guard Teven Jenkins said. “A guy who is willing to absorb all knowledge no matter what facet he’s dealing with.
“And just a great overall dude. I met him at dinner. It was really nice of him to go out of his way. We were having dinner off to the side and he came over and said hi to us. Because you’re like, ‘We don’t want to bother Caleb. He’s here and having his own dinner.’ He came over and said hi to my wife and introduced himself to my wife. I thought that was really cool of him.”
Williams has created excitement and a sense of anticipation on both sides of the ball. Even after an eventful offseason, training camp can’t get here soon enough.
“I like him a lot,” cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “His arm talent shows immediately. He’s very poised. He’s just learning every single day, chipping away and slowly getting better — and we’re all surrounding him. He’s young … but he holds himself nice. I’m excited to see him play.”
