Boomer Esiason: Ryan Poles should be fired if he doesn't draft Caleb Williams

It’s unclear how enticing playing in Washington, DC, where he’s from, is to Caleb Williams. But Boomer Esiason has some advice for the young quarterback: Just go to Chicago.

The Bears own the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, with the Commanders set to pick second. Although no commitment has been made either way, it seems likely Chicago will move on from Justin Fields and use the top selection on Williams.

But the USC product is from Washington, and there has been some conjecture that he could pull an Eli Manning and try to force his way to the Commanders.

Even if that is the case, Esiason said Tuesday on Boomer & Gio that picking Williams is a no-brainer for Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

“It’s over. They’re taking (Williams) right here, and if they don’t take this kid then Ryan Poles should be fired,” Esiason said. “You’ve got to restart the quarterback clock, you’ve got all the assets from the trade you made. You’re sitting pretty. You kept your head coach, you’ve got a new offensive coordinator in there. You could say that they should have hired Kliff Kingsbury, but he ended up going to Washington. Caleb Williams is from Washington DC.”

Both teams have some appeal. The Commanders finally have a new ownership group installed, plus Dan Quinn now the head coach and Kliff Kingsbury – who was an offensive analyst at USC last season – as the offensive coordinator. They’ve got plenty of cap space too, so there is reason to be optimistic about Washington.

But the Bears are loaded with assets, have a true No. 1 receiver in D.J. Moore and just added Shane Waldron as the offensive coordinator. They also have an impressive defense. In other words, the Bears are hardly a team at the very early stages of a rebuild.

“Caleb, don’t go home. Go to Chicago,” Esiason said. “They are loaded and they’re going to be good, and they have all these different assets. You’re going to have a good defense, they’ve added a number of offensive players the last two years. D.J. Moore I know did come out and support Justin Fields, (saying) that there’s nobody in this quarterback class like Justin Fields. Well, wait until you start playing with Caleb Williams. You’ll find somebody that is. …

“I hope that Caleb Williams doesn’t screw this up. … Don’t do it. Go to Chicago and resurrect that franchise. In my eyes, I know that they have not won a lot, but to me it’s still one of the few legacy franchises in the NFL. There’s something about being a Chicago Bear. On the defensive side of the ball there’s great history, there’s lore there, if you will.

“At the quarterback position, not so much. He can set every single franchise record, and he should. He should want to go there, he should want to play there, and he should want to lead that team.”