Last year, the Chicago Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, and it didn’t go so well for the $39 million quarterback.
Williams played in all 17 games, throwing for 3,541 yards and 20 scores to only six interceptions, but the team only won five games.
Although football is a team game, losses often fall on the quarterback, and Williams needs to ensure in his second season that he achieves more wins.
The good news is that Williams is now paired with offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson, and the Bears should be better on both sides of the ball.
While many are down on the Bears and Williams this season, Bradley Locker from Pro Football Focus thinks Williams could be part of the 2025 NFL All-Breakout Team.
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“It’s hard not to get extremely excited about the crop of second-year quarterbacks in 2025, disregarding even Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix,” Locker wrote. “Among the compelling gunslingers who have yet to fully prove themselves, Williams seems like the best bet to put everything together this season. Although the former No. 1 overall pick posted only a 67.6 overall PFF grade and a 63.5 PFF passing grade, Williams flashed his potential by churning out three games with at least an 83.0 overall PFF grade. Moreover, his 3.9% big-time throw rate was the best among rookie QBs to record at least 115 dropbacks. Williams certainly has areas to improve, including sack avoidance (league-high 17 sacks attributed to him) and negative plays (ninth percentile in avoiding such plays). But after adding Ben Johnson as his play caller and general manager Ryan Poles significantly upgrading Chicago’s offense with Joe Thuney (80.0 overall PFF grade), Drew Dalman (78.8 overall PFF grade), Colston Loveland (90.6 PFF receiving grade) and Luther Burden III (80.2 PFF receiving grade), Williams has everything at his disposal to excel this year.”
The Bears need Williams to be successful if they want to compete in the NFC North. If he can play significantly better than he did last season, then Chicago could be one of the best teams in the NFL.
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