Caleb Williams looks to have left a lasting effect on more than just the Chicago Bears’ general manager.
On the second day of the NFL’s annual league meetings in Florida, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus praised Williams after spending a lot of time with him last week. The Bears’ brass, including Eberflus, spent two days with him in Los Angeles before USC’s pro day on March 20 and then stayed for a third day to watch him throw live.
“It was great,” Eberflus told reporters during a roundtable on March 25. “The biggest takeaway is you can see the arm talent on the film, and you can see it there in person.”
While Williams’ arm was the most notable on-field takeaway, Eberflus was more pleased by the rookie quarterback’s demeanor around his USC colleagues. During their vetting process, the Bears spoke with many of them, even treating Williams and his draft-eligible teammates to dinner two nights before.
“What I loved to see was the interaction with the other players,” Eberflus remarked of the dinner. “You can see it, and we spoke with everyone on that team.” We interviewed them at both the Senior Bowl and the Pro Day. We spoke with those players during the dinner, and you can tell they love and respect him for what he’s brought to the program.”
Williams appears to be passing the culture check with flying colors so far.
Bears plan to test Caleb Williams on offense during his visit.
The Bears have spent the last two months studying whether Williams is a good fit to be their new franchise quarterback, but the next — and potentially last — step in the process is to bring him to Halas Hall for his official top-30 visit.
General manager Ryan Poles stated during the annual league meetings that Williams’ visit will take place during the first week of April. The Bears will need to undertake physical and medical checks on Williams during the visit because he chose not to participate in any medical testing at the 2024 NFL Combine. They will also use the occasion to introduce him to members of the offensive staff who did not travel to Los Angeles.
Furthermore, Eberflus stated that the Bears will evaluate Williams’ grasp of their offense based on the fundamentals they taught him during their visits last week.
“We’ll just continue with some of the installations that we did during the pro day,” Eberflus said Tuesday. “We’ll just keep going on that road, teaching him more about the offense and then having him give it back to us to see where he’s at. And he’s been fantastic in that way. It’s going to be good.”
Matt Eberflus is confident that the Bears can get a ‘blue’ player at No. 9.
While Williams is widely regarded as the top pick in the draft, the Bears’ second first-round selection remains a mystery.
The Bears also own the ninth overall pick and have a few particular areas where they could look to acquire talent. On the offensive side, they may be tempted by a left tackle or wide receiver, but there are compelling arguments for adding an edge rusher or defensive tackle.
“Obviously, having the No. 9 choice is an excellent position to be in. It’s right at the top, and we’ll definitely have a blue player there. And what we’ve done in free agency allows us to be flexible, to really take the best player who we believe suits us at that position. So we’re breaking off into pods or teams, which is an exciting moment because
A “blue” player is what the Poles’ front staff thinks to be a top first-round talent. Eberflus noted that they divide the prospects into positional groups — or “pods” — and then rank them based on who can benefit the most, a process that the front office will repeat in the coming weeks as the draft approaches.
For Eberflus, it boils down to two key things.
“It’s all to me about affecting the quarterback or helping the quarterback,” that’s what he said.
Leave a Reply