Mitch Trubisky was three years into his run with the Bears when former coach Matt Nagy publicly aired out that he was still struggling to read defenses and master his own offense, and Justin Fields was still getting baited into turnovers by crafty veterans last season.
With Caleb Williams, though, the Bears already are gushing about how sharply he deciphers coverage and how quickly he processes a play. There’s little dispute that even at this early stage, as a rookie quarterback who still has more than two weeks until his NFL debut, he’s a more gifted and sophisticated passer than his most recent predecessors.
That’s not an especially high bar to clear, granted, but it’s a good start. His recognition and progress from drive-to-drive was evident in preseason games against the Bills and Bengals, and there’s been gradual development over the first month of training camp.
The Bears got a glimpse of his acuity in their pre-draft meeting and even more so once he arrived at Halas Hall for offseason practices. He not only grasps offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s West Coast scheme and has held his own against what appears to be a very good Bears defense, but he has impressed with his ability to explain what he saw — or missed — on a play
“For him, it’s normal,” Waldron said. “Each rookie quarterback is a totally separate entity because they have different backgrounds… [Williams’ football intelligence] has been a good foundational starting point. That then allows him to build the offense, build the concepts around him knowing that he’s got that starting point of being able to see what the defense presents.”
Williams gave some insight into how he views improvisation, too, in his post-game news conference Saturday after beating the Bengals. His highlight of the day was scrambling for space, then dropping a 45-yard pass up the sideline to Rome Odunze, and afterward he laid out exactly how the Bears’ “scramble rules” led to the completion.
“He was the deep man on that side, so he already had the rights to be able to go deep,” Williams said of Odunze. “My only thing is just stay in range. It’s a little bit tougher to throw on the run 60 yards when you’re already down there. Stay in range and make it super decisive and detailed for me so I can see exactly what you’re doing.
“He saw me scrambling and then broke upfield, left a few yards on the hashes, and then I tried to give him a great ball.”
It’s up to Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus to decide whether they’ve seen enough proficiency to hold Williams out of the preseason finale Thursday at the Chiefs or if they’d like him to get one last dress rehearsal before the Sept. 8 opener against the Titans.
Williams played eight possessions — 42 snaps — over the last two preseason games and led the offense to three field goals and a touchdown. He completed 10 of 20 passes for 170 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers and ran twice for 20 yards and a touchdown.
He’s been choppy at times, including in practice Monday, but has trended positively overall. That’s usually part of the deal with a rookie. It’s just a question of how much he can minimize the volatility as he finds his way. The offense opened with three three-and-outs Saturday before the passing game clicked, and that could be a metaphor for the start of the season as well.
“I can’t imagine the pressure that is on him, but … seeing him handle it and roll with the punches is a sight to see,” tight end Gerald Everett said. “I can’t say enough about Caleb. I’m sure he will be even more exciting in the future.”
Williams filled up both sides of the ledger Monday. He hit wide receiver Keenan Allen three times for touchdowns during red-zone work, but also threw two interceptions to nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon. One of those picks, Williams seemed to get a little too creative with his arm angle as he tried to float one to DJ Moore.
The Bears will need to be patient with Williams while he figures out what he can get away with at this level. The defenses are trickier and the throwing windows close much faster than in college. It’ll take time for him to master all of that, but it’s promising that he doesn’t seem overwhelmed by it.
“He can play in rhythm, find those throws, and then what’s pretty cool to watch is when the play breaks down, it almost seems like it’s in slow motion for him,” Waldron said.
The inevitable missteps shouldn’t be disastrous for the Bears if the rest of their personnel plays as well as they project. There’s enough talent for them to be a top-10 defense, and they’ve supplied Williams with an unusually good cast of skill players for a rookie quarterback.
Interceptions were brutal for Fields because he had trouble reaching 200 yards and averaged one touchdown pass per game. One pick can be a killer when the quarterback goes 7 for 11 for 70 yards. Some of the NFL’s top quarterbacks threw more interceptions than Fields over the last three seasons, and it didn’t matter because they were high-volume passers with more than enough firepower to make up for it.
The Bears hope they have one of those guys in Williams. It’ll be a while before they know for sure if they do, but everything is pointing the right way.