Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has known Caleb Williams for five years, since he took the then-high schooler to dinner as part of a push to get him to attend LSU. They’ve stayed friends since, with the two throwing together in Los Angeles on occasion the last couple years.
“He’s going to be a really good player,” Burrow said Thursday after the Bears hosted the Bengals for a joint practice in a downpour at Halas Hall. “I’m excited to watch him.”
What he’ll watch in Year 1 figures to be filled with ups and downs. It was for Burrow, who shares membership in an exclusive club with the Bears’ rookie quarterback: Since 1980, only a dozen players have won the Heisman Trophy and been picked No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft.
No one, though, is immune from the rookie roller coaster.
“I think that’s what separates people, is, when you can maintain a levelheaded, even-keel aura, personality, whatever you want to call it,” Burrow said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. But can you come back the next day and go about your process the same way you did the week before, whether you won or whether you’ve lost? Whether you threw four picks or you had five touchdowns?
“You just have to have the mindset . . . that you’re going to be better.”
One valuable lesson happened in Burrow’s sixth NFL start, doled out by Matt Eberflus, who in 2020 was the Colts’ defensive coordinator. Down four at the Colts’ 35 with 46 seconds to play, Burrow dropped back to pass. Eberflus brought five rushers but had one bail out and drop into coverage after making contact with the offensive line.
Burrow tried to zip a pass to receiver Tyler Boyd, who’d lined up in the right slot and was running a seam route. Safety Julian Blackmon jumped in front of the pass for the game-sealing interception.
“Joe stored that one away,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It was kinda a four-deep, one-under [look], if I remember correctly. First time we’d seen that in his career. And so he stored that away and said, ‘If I ever get that one again, I know what I’m gonna get to.’
“There’s moments like that that are going to happen. You store them away and you learn from them. [Williams] is going to have a long career, so you have plenty to store away for.”
Taylor, whom the Bengals hired a year before drafting Burrow, raved about the situation the Bears have put Williams in. He praised Eberflus’ staff, singling out offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as an excellent teacher who will put Williams in the “greatest” position. The two coached together for two years with the Rams.
“You’ve got to have a good team around [Williams] — I know that the Bears do,” Taylor said. “You’ve got to have a coaching staff that’s able to develop him. I think this is one of the best coaching staffs in the league. They’ve done a really good job with who they’ve hired.
“They’ve got a really good defense. They have a ton of talent on offense. They have a quarterback that’s as good as you can get in the draft. It’ll be exciting to see how it all comes along. They’ll do it at their own pace.”
The Bears’ pace is light years ahead of when the franchise drafted Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields in the first round in 2017 and 2021, respectively. Both quarterbacks began their rookie seasons on the bench, whereas the Bears committed to Williams as the starter in the spring.
Burrow was named the starter as soon as he was drafted in 2020.
“I think you have to start ’em right away, because you learn so much in that first year when you’re getting those reps and when you come in and you’re named the starter immediately,” Burrow said. “I’ll never quite understand when you draft a guy that you know is going to be your starter, but then you don’t name him your starter immediately and so then he misses out on all those reps with the [first team].
“Those reps are so valuable. In every rep, you grow and you learn so much. I think that’s always a challenge if that doesn’t happen.”
Rookie years are challenging enough. Burrow didn’t realize how long his first year would feel. In 2019, by comparison, LSU had two bye weeks and 12 regular-season games.
“The season is a grind, you learn from every rep,” Burrow said. “As long as you grow and you learn, and you have great coaches, then you’re all right.”
Part of the learning process, Burrow said, was getting scouting reports on individual players as a rookie. He uses them still, even as defenders have moved on to different teams.
There’s no fast-forwarding through learning that rookie Rolodex. It’s valuable, even when the experience is a bad one.
“They’re all part of the process, the good and the bad with it — it’s all necessary,” Taylor said. “Every rep’s a good rep.”
Williams’ reps Thursday were inconsistent. He threw an interception on the first pass of seven-on-seven drills in the rain but later found DJ Moore for a touchdown in 11-on-11s.
The Bears quarterback’s growth will be measured each day in what is sure to be the longest season of his career. Burrow said he’s ready for it.
“I think once you’ve been through the things that he’s been through, that I’ve been through, I think you understand it,” Burrow said. “He played in L.A., so he’s used to that big market. That goes a long way. So if you can stay grounded like he can, then he’s going to have a good career.”
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow talks Caleb Williams.
“Pushing the Pile,” which debuts Monday, features Long and analyst Mike Renner. They’ll appear on the “NFL on CBS” YouTube page at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday and wherever podcasts are available.