Quarterback trainer Will Hewlett of CORTX knows Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams as well as anyone, having trained him from the seventh grade through his nascent NFL days.
So when he says he expects big things from Williams now that he’s paired with offensive guru Ben Johnson, it should intrigue Bears fans — and hopefully alleviate some fears about how Williams’ play style will mesh with his new play-caller.
During a recent interview with NFL journalist Tyler Dunne’s “Go Long” substack, Hewlett let football fans behind the curtain on Williams and why he thinks big things are on the horizon for the Bears under Johnson’s management.
“It’s the perfect storm,” Hewlett said of the pairing. “There’s great situations in the NFL and some that aren’t so great. But if you take a look at my Christmas list when all this stuff was starting to happen, that would’ve been my No. 1 choice based on my understanding of Ben and what type of guy he is and what type of coach.
“I don’t know that there’s a better scenario that could have panned out for Caleb. Because the pieces are there. And I’ve got nothing against the old staff—‘Flus’ was great to me and I know Shane Waldron—but it just wasn’t the right fit. Having an offensive-minded head coach and the mix of personalities, I think, now is going to be exactly what Caleb needs. Ben’s going to have a ton of fun with it.”
Wouldn’t it be great to watch a “fun” Bears offense again?
That’s what we were hoping for last year when the Bears drafted Williams No. 1 overall and put a stacked skill position group around him. But Year 1 was a roller-coaster for Williams’ individual play and a downright nightmare for Chicago as a whole, largely due to coaching malpractice from Matt Eberflus.
With Johnson, there’s hope Williams can become the superstar Hewlett and many others believe he’s meant to be.
“All these guys, you can never really predict what level they’ll get to and how they’ll get there, but there are always some common identifying factors,” Hewlett said. “It’s a desire to do the little things great, and they’re not afraid of hard work. That was one thing that always stood out about Caleb.”
As far as the criticism that Williams can’t play efficiently for a coach like Johnson, who has spent the last few years working with a more traditional pocket passer in Jared Goff, Hewlett doesn’t see a problem.
In fact, as Johnson himself has said, the key is to elevate Williams, not change him.
“He’s got that Allen Iverson-like aspect to his game,” Hewlett noted of Williams, whom he claimed “over-corrected” last year in an effort to play more stock-standard football from the pocket. “You want him to play within the system, but you also don’t want to take away the magic that makes him special.”
We saw snatches of “special” from Williams last year even amid the turmoil. It’s time to see if Johnson can help him keep that superstar switch flipped on all the time.