LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — Weeks before his name would be called as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, quarterback Caleb Williams wanted to know about the long, troubled history of the Bears at his position.
Williams approached Bears personnel, led by general manager Ryan Poles, and inquired about why the franchise has never thrived and achieved sustained success after drafting and attempting to develop a quarterback.
Poles welcomed the question from Williams but was also eager to look forward.
"The history is the history,” Poles said late Thursday night at Halas Hall after the Bears selected Williams at No. 1 overall. “I'm kind of done talking about it. You go back so much all the time, and those days are over. So, we're bringing players in here that want to really just change everything up and do things a different way. Obviously, we love our history here, but it has hasn't been smooth recently. It's time to change. I feel like we got to stop going back all the time."
After several years of watching Williams closely and months preparing for this day, the Bears on Thursday put their trust in Williams with the hope that he can become the type of star quarterback the franchise has never seen before.
The Bears are the lone franchise in the NFL to never have a 4,000-yard passer. By comparison, the rival Packers have had quarterbacks reach the 4,000-yard passing mark 18 times, most recently in 2023 by first-year starter Jordan Love.
Williams, 22, is the caliber of quarterback who could redefine the position in Chicago. He was the Heisman Trophy winner at USC in 2022 and became the poster boy of college football’s NIL movement.
Williams already knows how to handle the spotlight, which will now be following him to Chicago.
“I don’t think of it that way," Williams said. "That may be the narrative. For me, I handle my job, I be a great teammate first and foremost. I handle business on and off the field and then I go to work. I enjoy what I do. I love what I do. I’m in there with my guys and my guys are seeing me, they see how hard I work, their guy, their QB and we go get it. We go win games together. That’s the biggest thing is winning games together, because I can’t win a game by himself. Keenan Allen can’t win a game by himself. And so, making sure that we’re all together, offense, defense, special teams and we go get it.
“(The Bears) want to win. That was the biggest and most important thing. That was really it. That’s what it really came down to, and that aligns with me. I want to be around people that want to win, I want to be around people that want to achieve high because it only makes me better. That only holds me accountable, and it makes me excited to be around people like that. You’re who you are, but you also are the people that are closest to you. So having people around you that want to win only elevates you and your game.”
Poles recalled first watching Williams play when he came off the bench to lead Oklahoma to a comeback win over rival Texas in 2021. Poles has followed Williams’ career ever since, including his transfer to USC, where he took his career to new heights.
The possibility of selecting Williams in the draft became clear last fall as the Bears watched the Panthers quickly bottom out as the worst team in the NFL. Chicago owned the No. 1 overall pick from Carolina as part of the blockbuster trade that sent the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Bears to the Panthers.
Poles and his scouting brass evaluated Williams throughout the 2023 season, comparing him to the other quarterbacks in this class. Six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 picks in the first round Thursday, but none of the other five matched up to Williams.
Poles declined to reveal how many of the quarterbacks in this draft class were worthy of selecting over three-year starting quarterback Justin Fields, whom the Bears traded to the Steelers in March in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick. What was clear was that Williams was far above the rest of the pack.
“He is super talented and a generational player,” said receiver Rome Odunze, whom the Bears selected with the No. 9 overall pick. “So, to be able to catch balls from him and compete right beside him is a special thing.”
On the first day of this transformational offseason, Poles drove down Field Drive in Lake Forest and saw signs placed alongside the curb. Fans had voiced their opinions on a number of decisions the Bears had to make, with a few of the signs calling for Fields to remain as the franchise's quarterback.
Poles heard the noise all throughout this offseason as fans clamored over what was best for the Bear's future. He understood the significance of holding the No. 1 overall pick.
With the quarterback evaluation process behind him, the methodical Poles is confident it will all work out for the Bears.
“It's a guy that has all the tools,” Poles said of Williams. “But it's going to take hard work. It's going to take getting in sync with his teammates. There's a long road up ahead to develop the places where he needs to develop to win games and bring a championship here. But the beautiful thing is we have the right people here, we have the right teammates and I feel really good about it.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .
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