How Bears’ Caleb Williams has GM Ryan Poles convinced to draft him No. 1

It’s about to happen. It’s no secret that the Chicago Bears are taking Caleb Williams will the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. From the moment the team landed the first pick, they were going to take him no matter what. There were some speedbumps; uncertainty about Williams’ willingness to play in Chicago. Regardless, it does seem like the two sides are going to be partnering up for the future.

There’s a lot of things to look at when evaluating talent. Naturally, the first thing we gravitate towards is their abilities on the field. For top picks, though, you also have to look at their attitude. How well will they fare under the pressure of being a top pick. Bears GM Ryan Poles believes that Caleb Williams has what it takes to be a star under the pressures of being the first overall pick in a city like Chicago, per the Chicago Tribune.

“I know he does,” Poles said. “But I also think there’s room for growth there too. And he’s already been in the limelight. He has been in the spotlight. So I know that’s developing at a really good rate that I feel comfortable with.”

Poles also noted Williams’ drive to be the best as a reason for him being a potentially generational talent. The Bears are definitely excited to have him around in the near future.

“The other thing, too, is he has really, really high expectations of himself. So when he talks about last year, he wanted to win the Heisman back to back. He wanted to play in the college football playoffs and win a championship. That was his mindset. So when that started to deteriorate, that was really hard for him. But what I have expressed to him and what he has expressed (back) is maybe that was actually the best thing for him.”

Is Caleb Williams the solution to Bears’ QB woes?

The Bears have historically been pretty bad at selecting the QBs to lead their teams. From Mitch Trubisky to Jay Cutler, from Rex Grossman to Justin Fields, this team just hasn’t good consistent QB play in forever. Because of that, there’s a lot of pressure on Williams to finally be the elite QB that the team needs.

It certainly helps that Williams might be the best QB prospect that the Bears have gotten their hands on. Unlike Fields or Trubisky, which weren’t sure-fire picks, Caleb is considered to be the best of the best in his class. His ability to scramble and make something happen out of nothing.

For Caleb Williams to succeed, though, the Bears also need to be better themselves. All four QBs previously mentioned were flawed, yes, but Chicago didn’t do them any favors with the support they gave. Oftentimes, the coaching around the Bears’ quarterback was a revolving door of head coaches and playcallers that stymied the progress they could’ve made.

The Bears have a golden opportunity to completely turn their franchise around with Caleb Williams at the helm. Can they capitalize and turn Williams into the star he deserves to be?