The suspense over whether Williams would pivot to the 2025 draft or various other options is over, and he’s officially an option for the Bears.
The Bears already had all the drama they needed going into this offseason, then they got a little more as the consensus top college prospect toyed with them by waiting until the last possible moment to enter the draft.
The spike in suspense quieted as USC quarterback Caleb Williams officially declared for the draft Monday, clearing the way for the Bears to pick him if they want to move on from incumbent Justin Fields. They have the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, and general manager Ryan Poles said he was “very wide open” to taking a quarterback.
Williams already is well into the process of being debated and nitpicked, but he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and in three seasons of college football threw for 272.5 yards per game, completed 66.9% of his passes and had 93 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions.
His future is unpredictable, but the Bears have never had the chance to draft a quarterback with his credentials. As a prospect, he is considered to be one of the best of the past decade.
And that puts the Bears in a difficult, yet advantageous, situation.
This offseason presents a rare scenario, especially for them.
