After a slow start with the Chicago Bears, which left much to be desired, Caleb Williams seems to be picking up the pace. Naturally, this transition from a shaky debut to an NFL-ready quarterback has delighted fans, as well as pundits like Mike Jones, the renowned NFL writer from The Athletic.
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Jones joined the ‘Rich Eisen Show’ this week and shared his initial skepticism about the Bears putting too much pressure on Williams, which may have contributed to his early struggles. However, he praised the team’s strategy of allowing the rookie more breathing room to play his own game.
“I was disappointed with the approach that the Bears took out of the gates. It’s like they put way too much on him, just have him throwing 30-50 times a game, but in the last several weeks, they really seemed to have figured it out. He’s coming off of his best game this past week.”
Jones might have been spot on with his take, as it took Williams two games to improve his performance. In his first two outings against the Titans and Texans, he posted pass completion rates of 48.3% and 62.2%, respectively.
However, in his third game against the Colts, he recorded 363 passing yards and two touchdowns, marking his first NFL scores.
Calebs has drastically improved with time
Williams came in as the best player from the 2024 NFL Draft, and obviously, that came with its fair share of expectations. As such, it was a bit disheartening for the fans when he didn’t show off his college-level talent from the get-go, but the past three weeks have made it evident that the youngster just needed a bit of time.
When he faced off against the Texans in Week 2, he completed just 3 of his 12 passes but against the Rams last week; he went on to finish 8 of his 9 passes for 75 yards.
The QB’s rating has also seen a massive improvement, moving from 81.3 on his debut to 126.2 after his last game against the Carolina Panthers. He currently boasts five touchdowns to his name, over 1,000 passing yards, and a passing rating of 81.3.
With that said, one could argue that Williams is well on his way to proving himself as the ‘generational talent’ fans expect him to be. And who knows? He might even outperform Jayden Daniels and win the Rookie of the Year award. The two quarterbacks will face off on Sunday, October 25.