The Bears made the obvious choice when they drafted USC star Caleb Williams. He was the most likely rookie quarterback to succeed in the short term and the long term.
The former hasn’t happened — the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels has dominated the first seven weeks — but the latter remains very much in play. The reason: Since bombing in the season opener, Williams has been improving at a dramatic, and encouraging, rate.
† Williams had the second-worst Week 2 passer rating among all quarterbacks who threw at least 20 passes. He then had the 22nd-best Week 3 passer rating. In Week 4, he was fourth. In Week 5, he was third. And in Week 6, he was fifth.
† Since Week 2, Williams’ Pro Football Focus grade has improved every week. His adjusted QBR — a stat ESPN uses to calculate a quarterback’s impact — has gone up every game since Week 2, too.
† He was ranked 27th in completion percentage through two weeks — and sixth over the next four.
“I would just say improved, right? Or improving, right?” coach Matt Eberflus said Monday, the day Bears players reported back to Halas Hall. “You can really see the improvement through the course of the weeks.
“I always say it, that every unit faces its difficulties every week. It could be a pass rusher. It could be scheme. It could be certain players that threaten your unit. . . . And I think he’s learning that as we go. I think he’s learned to really do a good job in the noise to work through those things and also just the basic operation of good quarterbacking. And you can see that with the way he’s executed the last few weeks.”
Williams was one of four starting quarterbacks — and one of three rookies — without a touchdown pass through the first two weeks. He has thrown nine since, which is tied for fourth-most in the NFL even though the Bears missed a game because of a bye.
In Week 6, he added something new: a running element. His four carries for 56 yards were career highs. About one-third of his rushing yards all season came against the Jaguars.
Eberflus was most impressed by the circumstances that prompted his runs. Needing to drive 85 yards with about three minutes left in the first half, Williams scrambled for 23 yards and again for 19 before finding tight end Cole Kmet for a two-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds to play.
“It’s important to have a quarterback — which is why we like Caleb, because he’s accurate and a timely passer but also has the ability to use his legs to be able to gain chunk yards when they’re there,” Eberflus said.
It was the latest evolution by Williams. Already this season, he has improved short-yardage passing when the Bears asked for it one week and went deep with more success when his coaches pushed for that in another. He has grown more comfortable at the line of scrimmage, aided by a no-huddle attack that limits defensive trickery. After throwing two interceptions in back-to-back games — both losses — Williams has thrown one in the last three games.
He hasn’t been the best rookie quarterback through the first seven weeks. But the Bears think he’ll be the best quarterback among all the rookies.
“He’s super-talented and can do a lot of really good things with his legs and with his arm,” Kmet said. “I think the things he does in the pocket as a rookie are really impressive. Those are the things you look at that you can rely on week to week, whether that’s the intermediate or short passing game. I think Caleb has done a really good job with that.”