There was never a debate over who should be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Regardless of the team, it was always going to be USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who wound up with the Chicago Bears.
What Williams, Bears fans and the football world in general couldn’t have anticipated was how quickly he would get market corrected after No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders to a 12-5 record and the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. Daniels was also named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and selected to the Pro Bowl.
That Daniels’ signature moment of his rookie came against the Bears and Williams in Week 8 still burns Williams, who took a moment to throw former head coach Matt Eberflus under the bus in a recent Esquire magazine cover story.
On the final play of the Commanders’ 18-15 win, Daniels scrambled for 13 seconds before launching a 45-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to wide receiver Noah Brown as time expired — the play now known as “Hail Maryland” or the “Miracle in Maryland” to Commanders fans.
The loss kicked off a 10-game losing streak for the Bears, who finished 5-12. Eberflus was fired after a Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions, becoming the first coach in franchise history to be fired midseason.
“How (Eberflus) handled it at that time, for that game, was, I think, one of the things that throughout the locker room people talked about and were annoyed by,” Williams told Esquire.
Williams Under Pressure to Perform in 2025
One thing Williams didn’t do when talking about the loss to the Commanders was take any of the blame, despite going 10-of-24 passing for 131 yards with no touchdowns. Daniels was 21-of-38 passing for 326 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions while also rushing for 52 yards on 7 carries.
Daniels played hurt against the Bears after he bruised his ribs and sat out the final 3 quarters of a win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 7.
Williams’ disastrous rookie season should come with some grace, but that leeway runs out if he can’t perform in 2025. The Bears went out and hired coveted Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach after Johnson turned down a chance to become the Commanders head coach following the 2023 season.
‘No Debate’: Daniels Goes No. 1 Overall in 2024 Re-Draft
The Ringer’s Todd McShay did a 2024 re-draft on “The McShay Show” on December 25 that saw him drop Williams to No. 3 overall to the New England Patriots, with Daniels pushed up to No. 1 to the Bears and Drake Maye to No. 2 to the Commanders.
The actual order of the draft was Williams, Daniels then Maye to the Patriots.
“I don’t know that Jayden Daniels would have a whole lot more success than Caleb Williams (in Chicago), but I think after just about a full season in the NFL, Jayden Daniels feels like the right decision here,” McShay said. ” … I just can’t debate it. I think it was really close coming in (to the draft) between (Daniels) and Caleb, and Jayden has just outplayed him this year.”
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