Sportsnaut
Caleb Williams is entering a pivotal second season with the Chicago Bears. The 2024 No.1 overall pick had an underwhelming rookie campaign, but is in a better situation this year with Ben Johnson at head coach.
With Williams under a lot of pressure heading into 2025, fans and media are watching his every move. For instance, the USC product received some criticism from multiple national media members for not playing in Chicago’s preseason opener versus the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“My take is everybody but Tom Brady played this weekend and Caleb Williams didn’t,” FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd said of Williams not playing in the preseason. “He’s not quite there. We’re asking him to do stuff under center, and it was strategic in not playing him. “
Williams has also caught some heat due to a viral video of him struggling in a drill at practice, which caused him to get frustrated with himself.
Though Williams has a lot of doubters and adversity to face this year, his offensive coordinator still has confidence in him. First-year Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle defended his quarterback during a recent interview and praised him for his work ethic.
“He [Williams] works at. He works at it really hard,” Doyle said on the NFL Spotlight With Ari Meirov. “It’s important to him, and I’ve seen him progress from spring to right now. He’s going to continue to progress as he continues to stress himself and grow.”
“He’s very attentive in media roomings. He wants to get it right. He wants to be a great quarterback.”
It’s great to hear Doyle defending Williams and instilling a vote of confidence in his young quarterback. Doyle served as the tight ends coach of the Denver Broncos in 2023 and 2024, so he was around quarterback Bo Nix during his spectacular rookie season in 2024.
If Williams can continue and progress, he’ll take a step in the right direction in 2025. The 23-year-old has all the talent and tools necessary to be a franchise quarterback, and just needs to block out the noise.
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