LAKE FOREST, IL (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has lofty expectations for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Rather than a specific win or stat total this season, there are qualities Poles wants to see from the first pick of the 2024 draft. They’re not unlike what he saw while working in Kansas City and the quarterback was Patrick Mahomes.
“Lean on the guys around him, be instinctual, let those wild plays happen at the right time,” Poles said during his annual regular-season opening news conference. “We saw it in the preseason a little bit. That’s gonna be important.”
The key for Williams, Poles said, is relying on teammates do their jobs first before moving outside the pocket to make big throws downfield like he made in the preseason and in two years at USC.
While Mahomes eventually did this for the Chiefs, he only played one game as a rookie.
So it would seem there is pressure on the first pick in this year’s NFL draft to produce immediately. Mahomes has shown he’s at his best when facing pressure. This is also what the Bears have in mind for Williams as well.
“It’s interesting because I know there’s a lot of comparisons out there, but I don’t know what Patrick’s rookie year would have looked like,” Poles said. “But I know in Year 2 you saw exactly that.
“When the pressure went up he was calm, and then when it was time to do something special he was able to do it and connect. But I also think — you know we probably don’t talk about it enough —he really gave opportunities for special players to be special and I really think that’s what took it over the edge.”
Poles hopes to see Williams producing in the clutch this way.
“I kinda say it’s their heartbeat,” Williams said. “Does their heartbeat skyrocket in those pressure situations? Or do you see this calm?”
Whether Williams has this ability to perform under pressure is the great unknown.
“We’re not going to know until we’re in it, in terms of the pro side of it,” Poles said. “But that’s what I look for.
“I want the game to slow down, for there to be a level of poise, and again, I’ll go back to is there that same combination of taking what a defense gives you, leaning on your talent and then when you’re forced to be special, be special.”
Williams completed 10 of 20 for 170 yards with a 79.2 passer rating in preseason, made several big throws out of the pocket but had issues with consistency.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus leaned on another sport to describe the expectations for Williams.
“So we all know what he can do in terms of his arm talent, in terms of throwing on the move and those types of things,” Eberflus said.
“But in the early parts of the game and early downs, he’s just asked to play point guard, have a great operation, play a point guard, get the ball to our skill, either by handing it off or throwing it to them and letting them do the running and moving around and gaining the yards.”
It’s not entirely on Williams, though. He’ll need to be given a chance to get the ball to playmakers such as DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze.
“It’s going to be big that our offensive line plays well like I’ve said in the past and everybody plays well around him, that’s defense and special teams included,” Eberflus said. “And then when you get to the point in the game where it is a critical down or a third down or in the red zone or whatever that might be, then you might see X-factor come out and that’s where it is.”
Poles’ expectations for the team itself are high, as well. Ultimately, they hinge on his highly touted passer because the Bears defense proved itself late last season after the trade for pass rusher Montez Sweat.
“To win the division, win Super Bowls, that’s always the goal,” Poles said. “Obviously getting into the playoffs and winning playoff games would be outstanding.
“But I think the biggest thing is can we take that big jump from where we were last year to this year, and I think we’re capable of doing that.”
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