There has been plenty of speculation about what the Chicago Bears intend to do with the first overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. But if the unanimous top prospect decides that he doesn’t want to play for them, then the decision could ultimately be made for them.
NFL: What Will The Bears Do With The #1 Pick?
🚨🚨REPORT: USC superstar quarterback Caleb Williams and his camp do NOT WANT the #Bears to pick him, per @ColinCowherd of Fox.
“Williams does not want to go to Chicago” pic.twitter.com/SvrvbIvxwf
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) February 2, 2024
Chicago is in an interesting position. They had the #1 overall pick in last year’s draft, but traded it to Carolina for a handful of assets, including their 2024 first rounder. Since the Panthers finished with the worst record in the NFL in 2023, the Bears have their pick at whichever prospect they covet, along with their own first round pick that lands in the top 10.
Their current quarterback, Justin Fields, just spent the past season doing his best to prove to the franchise that he can be their starter going forward. He didn’t exactly blow anyone away with his performance, though, leaving more questions than answers as he and Chicago fell short of expectations.
Will they trade the QB that they’ve invested the past three years in? Or will they choose to trade the pick for a king’s ransom and roll with Fields for at least another season?
Cowherd Says Williams Uninterested In Chicago
Wow: “Caleb (Williams) and his group DO NOT want to go to Chicago,” per @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/U9zfY349rI
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 2, 2024
According to analyst Colin Cowherd, the smart thing to do would be to trade down, given his intel that star prospect and consensus #1 overall pick Caleb Williams doesn’t want to play for Chicago:
There’s some concerns here that dad is a little too involved…I do think its possible that Washington trades up, and that Chicago allows Washington to trade up. Because Caleb and his group do NOT want to go Chicago. He’s from the DC area, I think Dan Quinn has considered.
One of the things that Cowherd points to is the Bears’ consistent inability to develop quarterbacks, as they have one of the worst track records of any NFL team when it comes to quarterback play, both recently and historically. Fields was thought to be the answer when the team drafted him 11th overall in 2021, but he has fallen short of expectations thus far in his career.
Fields finished the 2023 season with 2,562 passing yards to go along with 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 13 starts.
Jay Cutler is easily the Bears’ franchise leader in passing yards, as his 23,443 are nearly 10,000 more than the next highest on the list. Fields, having started just a total of 40 games for Chicago, is already in 9th place.
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