Caleb Williams poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected first overall by the Chicago Bears.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
DETROIT — When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called Caleb Williams’ name Thursday night, he revealed the worst-kept secret in recent draft history and launched what the Bears hope will be the dawn of a new era.
The Bears had been locked in on the USC quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick for weeks. He was the only passer invited to visit Halas Hall during the predraft process. Likewise, Williams didn’t visit any other team at their home facility.
Thursday night, the marriage was officially blessed.
“I have prepared mentally for this moment, to go No. 1,” Williams said while walking the red carpet two hours before the start of the draft. “It’s on my phone screen. It’s on my mind quite often. So to now be in this moment, I prepared for it. I’m happy. I’m excited. But I’m also ready.”
It didn’t take the Bears long to discover that they too think he’s ready. Bears scouts followed Williams’ season last year — a disappointment by the former Heisman Trophy winner’s own lofty standards — before beginning their off-the-field research not long after the season ended.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, general manager Ryan Poles met Williams for the first time. He traded incumbent Justin Fields before he led a phalanx of Bears front office members and coaches to the USC pro day in March. Williams visited Halas Hall — and dined with Bears veterans — earlier this month.
The Bears discovered in Williams a will to win that matches their own. Poles added six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen and Pro Bowl running back D’Andre Swift to the Bears’ offense to try to give Williams powerful weapons from Day 1 — a luxury not afforded Justin Fields or Mitch Trubisky.
Poles puts quarterbacks into two categories — surgeons and artists. They know Williams in the latter, and believe he can develop into the former.
Williams is the first quarterback the Bears have ever selected with the first overall pick. He walked onto the stage to greet Goodell, who handed him a navy No. 1 Bears jersey with his last name on the back.
He was the first of three consecutive quarterbacks taken. The Commanders drafted LSU’s Jayden Daniels — like Williams, a Heisman Trophy winner — and the Patriots took North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
Williams’ future home was so obvious that he held a throwing session last week in Los Angeles with both Allen and Bears receiver DJ Moore. A smiling Poles joked Tuesday that, despite everyone knowing the identity of the first pick, fans had to wait until Thursday night for it to become official.
Williams wore a custom-made Chrome Hearts navy suit with a zipper down the front right side. The silver crosses over his heart matched the ones on his girlfriend’s silver dress — and Williams’ two painted pinkie fingernails.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be here and walk the stage and things like that,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to enjoy, especially when you have your family members, loved ones, girlfriend, … old teammates around you [that] you care for you and love you.”
The only question becomes: Will he wear No. 13 for the Bears, the way he did at USC? Minutes after the draft, the Bears announced he’d wear No. 18.
Allen wore 13 with the Chargers.
“There’s a 13-year Hall of Fame vet,” Williams said before the draft. “So that would be tough. But yeah. We’ll see.”
Thursday night, the only number that mattered was No. 1.