Chicago Bears ‘Expect’ Caleb Williams to Deliver Playoff Football as Andrew Luck Comparison Set to ‘Pressure’ Rookie QB

There are only fourteen days left for the NFL Draft. While it is almost set in stone that the Chicago Bears will be drafting Caleb Williams, we are still not sure of a lot of things. This class of QBs is considered one of the best ones in a while and Williams is at the forefront of it. So, it would be safe to assume that there are a lot of expectations from this USC QB.

Naturally, Williams is drawing comparisons from Andrew Luck, the Stanford Alum who became a Colts legend later. In his rookie year with the Indianapolis Colts, Luck led the team to an impressive 11-5 record and a playoff berth. Now, people expect the same from the Trojans QB. Is it viable? The hosts at SPEAK had a few things to say about it.

Are expectations from Caleb Williams too high?

Emmanuel Acho pointed out the obvious by saying that Caleb Williams will be the No. 1 overall pick in the coming drafts. Per Acho, Williams can lead the Bears to the playoffs in his rookie year and he had his reasons behind it. He pointed out that the NFL world hasn’t seen such a prospect since Andrew Luck. But Luck being able to lead the Colts to playoffs wasn’t by chance.

Acho mentioned that the team had Peyton Manning, who was injured at the time, along with other Hall of Famers like Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, and Robert Mathis. Cut to 2024, Williams finds himself in a similar position with prospects like the WR DJ Moore, the RB D’Andre Swift, and the WR Keenan Allen revolving around the Bears’ future QB. Not only this, but he would also have the support of LB TJ Edwards and CB Jaylon Johnson to go with it.

While there is contention that due to the upgraded roster, the QB is going to have it easy, things may be far from what meets the eye.

Things haven’t been easy for Caleb Williams

Recently, former NFL QB Greg McElroy said something controversial about the USC Trojans QB and he didn’t like it at all. McElroy made it a little personal by saying that Williams hasn’t faced a lot of public adversity, compared to the likes of Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

In his conversation with Kevin Clark, McElroy said, “Caleb Williams, from the time he stepped on campus at Oklahoma to the time he stepped on campus at USC, has never experienced adversity. Very little adversity as far as how he was received, how he was portrayed as the next-best guy.”

Williams didn’t take kindly to the remark and had a few things to highlight about his past. In reply to the crass remarks, Williams wrote, “Let’s go back to school again cause I’m bored [right now],” and added, “Adversity: ‘A state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.'”Y1. Didn’t start freshman year. Y2. Popped hammy championship game 1st Q. Lost bc of my hammy. Y3. 7-5 my last year of college ball.”

But McElroy’s remarks were more from a mental standpoint that a physical one. He said, “I think that’s the challenge when you have a guy that does have this many God-given gifts,” and added, “You have to take him, and you just hope that the mental makeup is there alongside the physical makeup.”

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Only time will tell whether Williams’ adversities, the physical and mental fortitude will become a catalyst for the Bears’ playoff contention or not.

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