The Chicago Bears and their fans are filled with excitement about their rookie quarterback. Apparently, so are many of the top minds around the National Football League.
The Bears landed University of Southern California's Caleb Williams with the first pick of the 2024 National Football League Draft, in their most promising attempt yet to find the face of the franchise. Williams was quickly named the starter in spring, and then named captain this week.
Williams is the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year and is generally expected to hit the ground running. But it still doesn't hurt to hear that many of the game's most respected figures believe in the highly-touted rookie.
On Wednesday, The Athletic released their yearly survey of NFL decision-makers (requires subscription), including 27 coaches and executives. Insider Jeff Howe conducted the survey, and noted that Williams drew rave reviews from many of those polled.
First, Williams garnered five votes when the decision-makers were asked to name the top three quarterbacks they would take to start a team, factoring in age and contracts.
"This was a recycled question with a twist, adding the age and contracts into the mix to spawn different viewpoints," Howe said. "With the explosion of QB contracts, there’s a premium on creativity in team building."
Then, of 26 decision-makers who responded, 18 picked Williams to be the best quarterback in this rookie class. Five voted for the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels, and three voted for the Denver Broncos' Bo Nix.
"This wasn’t overly surprising," Howe said. "Williams had been the consensus No. 1 pick for months before the draft, and he joined a Chicago Bears offense that is loaded at each of the skill positions."
“'Because of the opportunity and skill,' a head coach who voted for Williams said."
If the stage wasn't already set for Williams to shine in year one, it certainly is now. He's not only out to validate the Bears for making him the top pick in the draft but now, he has to validate the belief of his peers around the league.
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