Though the hay may not be in the barn just yet, all indications point to Caleb Williams being selected by the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick in the draft.
Several players, including current Bears (Jaylon Johnson and DJ Moore) and former Bears (Jay Cutler), disagree with that strategy, saying the team should centre around incumbent starter Justin Fields and give him the roster support and coaching he needs to succeed in his fourth season.
But it’s difficult to believe that this finishes with Williams going to Chicago with the first pick overall given Fields’ lack of elite productivity, Williams’ extraordinary skill, the proposed switch to a West Coast offence that seems to favour Williams’ skill set, and pure luck.
Furthermore, Kliff Kingsbury, a former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and offensive assistant at USC, is reportedly being questioned by Bears brass regarding Williams’s actions both on and off the field as part of their recruitment process for the offensive coordinator post. It’s enough to say that they’re finishing up their research on the best prospect in the draft.
Then there’s the space where all those viewpoints converge, illuminating the potential complexity of the Bears’ dilemma.
In addition to seeing a lot of Williams throughout the last two seasons, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, who covered PAC-12 college football for Fox Sports, has also observed a lot of potential Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s work with the Seattle Seahawks.
When Waddle and Silvy Show of ESPN 1000 asked Huard what he would do if he were the Bears’ quarterback, Huard cited Fields’ “style” over his “skill” as the main factor in his decision to keep Fields as the team’s starter.
He declared, “Your team ought to be modelled after the Baltimore Ravens.” “It’s not easy to toss the ball in Chicago.I think that setting ought to be Bully Ball 101. Play to your surroundings and resume your role as the largest, meanest bully in the neighbourhood.
“…I think you have an incredible dual-threat player in Justin Fields. Tell me, therefore, what prevents that squad from being modelled like the Baltimore team.
On the one hand, it’s difficult not to picture Fields succeeding in Chicago’s unpredictable winter months given his performance in Atlanta in Week 17. Another upside for an offence is that head coach Matt Eberflus will almost definitely want to have an advantage on the ground. He can run the football himself.
The Bears may seek to develop that kind of offence, possibly with Fields at quarterback, as evidenced by the reports that they had interviewed Greg Roman for the open offensive coordinator position.
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