Among the many areas of Caleb Williams’ game that weren’t quite as polished as fans of the Chicago Bears hoped it would be during the 2024 1st overall pick’s rookie season, it was his inaccuracy throwing the deep ball that may have been the most disheartening. Unfortunately, threw two days of training camp practices, it appears that this remains an issue.
“It was kind of a rough day for Caleb in terms of some of the deep ball stuff he was going after today,” Bears reporter Mark Grote noted on the Rahimi and Harris show Thursday morning. “Caleb was missing on some of those long shots down the field.”
Caleb Williams may have plans of becoming the first quarterback in Bears history to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season, and new head coach Ben Johnson challenged him to complete 70 percent of his passes this season. Finding his touch on the deep ball, which was considered a strength of his game as he departed USC to come to the NFL, would go a long way in helping Williams make good on some of these 2025 goals.
Digging Deeper Into Caleb Williams’ Deep Ball Struggles
Even following a so-so-rookie season, Williams’ raw potential isn’t up for debate here. His arm talent and ability to make plays off schedule is second-to-none, and some of the throws he made during his rookie season were plays that no Bears quarterback in recent memory could’ve made. But the inability to make splash plays down the field really hindered a Bears offense that desperately needed them.
According to Hayden Winks of Underdog Network, Williams’ PFF grade on throws 15 yards or more down the field was the worst in the NFL in 2024. He was accurate on just 28 percent of his attempts of 20+ yards, which was 32nd among all qualified quarterbacks.
It would be easy enough to use this data and paint a picture in which there is simply no hope for Caleb Williams. But there are a few important things to remember:
First, it was his rookie season, and a tumultuous one at that. If Caleb responded in a big way this year, it wouldn’t be the first, nor will it be the last time that a young quarterback makes a considerable leap in his second NFL season.
Second, for much of the 2024 campaign, the Bears asked Williams to do something he wasn’t necessarily known for at USC… they required him to be a prototypical pocket passer within a pro style offense that operated with very little rhyme or reason, creating a number of instances where it looked like Williams was overwhelmed and overthinking.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the Bears asked all of this of Caleb Williams even though he was playing behind one of the league’s most overmatched offensive lines. Williams was pressured constantly and sacked more than any quarterback in the league, and sure, he brought some of that upon himself, holding the ball for too long, but very few quarterbacks would’ve been able to keep their heads above water if they were in Caleb’s shoes.
Fortunately, Williams should have more time to hang onto the ball this year because of what’s expected to be a significantly improved offensive line.
Ben Johnson’s Offense Should Ease Concerns of Bears Fans
This year, Caleb Williams will find himself in a much more favorable offensive situation, and much of that has to do with new Bears head coach Ben Johnson. In three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, Johnson proved to be one of football’s best play-callers.
So many times throughout his tenure with Detroit, wide receivers were schemed wide open, giving quarterback Jared Goff the opportunity to deliver throws without a defender even threatening to make a play on the ball. It makes sense that Goff, an admittedly very accurate passer, led the league in completion percentage in 2024.
There’s also this: Goff’s average depth of target — just 6.3 yards per attempt, according to Pro Football Reference — ranked 33rd out of 37 qualified quarterbacks, proving that you don’t necessarily need to throw deep to be an effective passing team. In all reality, Johnson can and likely will play to Caleb Williams’ strengths, which last season were as a short to intermediate passer, and the Bears offensive could be among the more explosive units in the league.
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