With his rookie season in the rearview mirror, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is gearing up for year two, and expectations are high for the 2024 first overall draft pick — but some aren’t sure the former USC Trojan will have what it takes.
As a rookie, Williams completed 62.5% of passes for 3,541 yards and threw 20 touchdowns. Among all 91 athletes to start at quarterback last season, Williams’ passing ranked 17th-best in the league.
Bears fans’ hopes are resting heavily on the shoulders of a more experienced Williams and new head coach Ben Johnson this season, after Chicago finished 5-12 under Matt Eberflus; however, sports radio host Maggie Gray is skeptical of Williams.
“The quarterback that I think is going to potentially have the biggest fall off is Caleb Williams,” Gray said on “Maggie & Perl” Thursday. “The expectations are through the roof. He's landed in Chicago, which is, very famously, never had a 4000 yard passer, and has never been a place where quarterbacks even really get developed.”
Williams is one of six second-year quarterbacks in the league this season, along with Jayden Daniels (Commanders), J.J. McCarthy (Vikings), Drake Maye (Patriots), Bo Nix (Broncos) and Michael Penix Jr (Falcons).
Gray doubled down on the Bears, noting Johnson could fall into the camp of strong offensive coordinators who can’t hack it as head coaches.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“Ben Johnson is a first time head coach, great play caller, but so was Matt Nagy, and so was Adam Gase, and so was Marc Trestman, and so were some of these other guys who are these offensive geniuses that couldn't be head coaches, or at least not yet,” Gray said.
The radio host’s comments come just a week and a half after Johnson spoke to team media about issues with the Bears’ “sloppy” offense during training camp and Family Fest practice.