Justin Fields vs. Caleb Williams: Breaking down scouting reports for Bears quarterback, possible No. 1 pick

The Bears have a decision to make. And it's one that will dramatically alter the rest of the league.

For the second straight year, Chicago has the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Many speculated the Bears might use the 2023 pick to take a quarterback and reset the timer on the rookie contract by dealing Fields before the start of his third NFL season. Instead, they traded the pick to bolster the roster and give Fields a true No. 1 wide receiver in D.J. Moore.

Chicago is now faced with that decision again. But circumstances have changed. Fields is now heading into what could be the final year of his rookie contract unless Chicago takes the fifth-year option. And while Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were well regarded, Caleb Williams appears to be at the next level of quarterback prospect. He's garnered comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. Williams combines a rocket arm with speed and elusiveness as a runner. 

Sound familiar? For all the comparisons Williams has received, plenty will often point to the ones that describe him as a similar player to Fields, who was also well-regarded coming out of Ohio State before sliding to the 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He, too, combined the pedigree of a powerful arm and speed that allowed fans to dream of a perennial MVP candidate.

How did the two compare as prospects coming out of college? Here's what you need to know.

Justin Fields vs. Caleb Williams

Size

Since Williams has not yet reached the combine, there are no official measurements out there for him. But there are still enough to glean some information on him.

Williams is listed by USC as standing 6-1, 215 pounds. That's a solid size for a quarterback, though he'll certainly be far from the tallest signal-caller in the league. 

Fields was listed by the NFL Draft officially at 6-2, 228 pounds. That puts him slightly taller and heavier than Williams.

Arm strength

There's more to arm strength than just throwing the ball down field. Plenty of quarterbacks can get the ball across the field in the form of a looping arm punt. But when Josh Allen or Justin Herbert are throwing it down the field? The ball is going to be rifled in a low laser that can hit receivers in stride from nearly any distance.

There were plenty of questions about Fields' abilities as a next-level passer, but arm strength was not one of them. He was praised for having a strong arm capable of both hitting receivers down the field and doing so with velocity. That arm strength allowed him to zip passes into receivers' hands with plenty of velocity when needed.

Williams will head to the NFL right away as possessing one of the league's strongest arms. He has excellent velocity on passes to all levels of the field and maintains that speed even when throwing on the run. His throwing mechanics allow him to access easy power all the time, including when he attempts passes from other arm slots.

Arm accuracy

Having a rocket arm is one thing. It helps to place the ball exactly where it needs to fit. Sure, Aaron Rodgers has a strong arm. But what has given him a Hall of Fame career is the ability to fit his passes into any window.

This was widely believed to be a strength of Fields. Though at times he struggled to hit receivers in stride on deep passes, he completed over 70 percent of his passes his final year in college and the tape appeared to show a quarterback who could fit the ball into windows when they opened. And certainly if a receiver found themselves open on the field, he wasn't going to miss.

When it comes to pure statistical accuracy, Fields takes a slight edge over Williams, who completed only 66.9 percent of his passes for his career and 68.6 percent in his best season. But the eye test likely has him somewhere on par with Fields or even potentially ahead. Williams is a more accurate passer on the run and has shown the similar ability to hit receivers in narrow windows. At times, he's struggled to complete passes over the middle of the field and at times almost appears to struggle when left in the pocket as opposed to rolling out. Overall, however, his accuracy counts among his many strengths.

Field reading

Many will say this is the most important trait to have as a quarterback. Joe Burrow is perhaps the poster child in this regard. He lacks a rocket arm or speedy legs. But his ability to read defenses and use his accuracy to hit receivers in perfect windows is what makes him an elite quarterback.

This was undoubtedly an issue for Fields coming out of college. At Ohio State, he could get away with misreading defenses because he was throwing to NFL-caliber wide receivers being covered often by well-inferior corners. He could get away with locking into his first read and uncorking the pass because his receivers could often bail him out. Fields also had issues picking up a blitz, and as a result, he's struggled in the NFL to make defenses pay for blitzing him.

Williams certainly has an advantage over Fields in this regard. He can often be seen quickly jumping from read to read and analyzing the field, ensuring he finds the right target before attempting a pass. Teams that blitz Williams also typically learn quickly that it is a mistake to do so as he showed no problem getting the ball out quickly and trusting the reads he makes.

Play-making

The speed of the NFL game is just going to be different in the NFL than in college. Though the offensive lines will have more talent on them, the defensive players chasing after QBs is also considerably faster. Therefore, it helps to have the ability to keep a play alive, rolling out of the pocket to buy receivers time to get open or use the legs to pick up yards and avoid sacks.

The two quarterbacks generally are regarded similarly here. Fields was not called on as much to be a designed runner in college, but instead used his quickness to scramble for yards or just keep plays alive. He stood out for the combination of size and speed that allowed him to either out-run defenders in college or simply avoid being brought down on the first tackle attempt.

Williams was often forced to keep plays alive due to sub-par offensive line play at USC, particularly in 2023, and he was typically successful in those endeavors. Whether it was making a wild throw on the run or an improbable scramble out of what appeared to be a sack, Williams combined his arm strength with his elusiveness to evade pressure and either find open receivers or pick up yards with his legs. And few boast his ability to make throws on the run. He has also drawn Mahomes comparisons in particular for attempting passes with wonky arm actions or other unorthodox methods that are sometimes the only way to complete an otherwise improbable pass.

What has plagued both quarterbacks at times in their scouting reports is that the ability to make plays has often hindered them from making the right decisions. Because of the talent gap between Ohio State's offensive lines and receivers relative to the defenders, Fields could get away with staying in the pocket longer and waiting for a player to get open or simply trusting that 50/50 balls would more often than not go his favor. That has translated to waiting too long in the NFL and taking ill-advised sacks or throwing questionable interceptions. 

Williams has already gotten a taste of disappointing offensive line play. Particularly in the 2023 loss to Notre Dame, Williams could be seen attempting to keep plays alive for too long and taking sacks that he should have avoided had he simply just abandoned the play and thrown the ball away. Though the interceptions haven't been a huge issue, his habits of throwing from unique arm slots or trying other heroic passes could be troublesome if he's not more selective in the pros.

Speed

There is a distinction between speed and play-making ability. When Lamar Jackson gets into open space, he is so dangerous to teams because he has the capability of bursting down the field and making it impossible for anyone to catch him. 

Fields has some blazing speed, which he has put more on display in the NFL than in college. At the NFL combine, he was charted as having run a 4.45 40 time, a top-notch speed for a quarterback.

Williams has yet to run at the combine, but the unofficial times he's been listed at in the 40-yard dash tend to put him between a 4.57 and a 4.6 40 time. That would still be a quick time for a QB, but it's not quite in Fields' territory.

Stats

The numbers are hardly going to be the best measure for comparing, though the situations weren't altogether different. Fields played in a quarterback haven at Ohio State under Ryan Day, who has a knack for developing quarterback talent. Williams played under Lincoln Riley, who had developed two Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

There were still several differences between the two QBs' collegiate experiences. First, the Buckeyes had a steady defense that allowed for more blowout wins rather than disappointing, shoot-out losses. Second, Ohio State typically had better offensive line play and leaned on Fields more to throw rather than scramble.

The other main difference is that Fields saw limited playing time as a true freshman at Georgia in 2018, then had his junior year in 2020 cut down by COVID to just eight games, though Fields did lead Ohio State to the national championship that season. Williams, on the other hand, took the starting job from Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma as a freshman and played in 26 games for the Trojans in two years in Los Angeles.

Justin Fields

Caleb Williams

Career stat comparison