It hasn’t taken long for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to establish himself as a leader in the locker room.
Just five games into his rookie season, Williams’ teammates have already begun to notice a significant change in the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft . On the heels of back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers , wide receiver DJ Moore attributed Chicago’s recent success to the signal-caller’s “bossy” attitude.
“It’s amazing,” Moore told reporters ahead of the Bears’ Week 6 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. “He’s taken those strides that he needs to.
“He’s been bossy lately, telling us that we need to be on the details. We really do for him to be the best player he needs to be. He’s been a leader.
“So what I mean by bossy is, if we don’t hit something in practice, he’s going to tell us how we need to run it. And we just look at him and be like, ‘OK.’ When we get out there in the game, just making sure you work because he’s gonna have some words for you if you don’t. That’s him being a leader.”
As the second-youngest player on the Bears roster at only 22 years old, Williams conceded that he’s still growing into his leadership role and “learning everybody and understanding how everybody reacts to certain things.
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"Certain people you can be a little bossy with, certain people you have to talk very monotone and in control of yourself, and other times there's people that you can just kind of lash out at," he said. "I don't really lash out much. That's not really my vibe.
"But just always coming over to talk to the guys when I can. Growing up a little bit. Understanding that even when I'm frustrated about maybe a drive or a play that we had that we may have messed up or whatever the case may have been, understanding that there's another drive coming, there's another part of the season that we have to focus on also.
“Being able to go over and talk to them and understand how and what they need to hear and then from there moving on."
Williams’ newfound assertiveness isn’t the only thing that’s impressed his peers. Following an underwhelming NFL debut in which he completed just 14-of-29 passes for 93 yards, he’s looked far more efficient and comfortable in the pocket - logging two games with over 300 passing yards in the ensuing four weeks.
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"I think he's learning how to play professional football," general manager Ryan Poles said of Williams. "And when I say that, that means to have a winning mentality in terms of: What does it take to win football games from the quarterback position?
"And you've seen that in terms of the efficiency, protecting the football, taking what's given to him and then going into this last game, now explosives are starting to show up. So I really like his progress, I love the work ethic and the time that he's put into it, the grit and toughness, the ability to bounce back from tough games. He's right where he should be and he's continuing to get better."
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