Ryan Poles Clears “Misconceptions” Around Caleb Williams as Bears Hold Pole Position to Sign USC Star

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, it’s a match set up in mock drafts of the NFL world. Since the day Williams was projected as the No.1 pick, rumors surrounding the Chicago Bears picked him up to strengthen their QB department are in the air. Following this, their initial secret, and now public meetings, have only heightened the talks about the two.

So much so that several analysts already consider Williams a part of the Bears. Almost as the final thumbs-up, Bears general manager Ryan Poles indicated the seriousness of their meetings in his recent appearance on the Pat McAfee show. When McAfee asked Poles, “What have you learned about him that you love?” he seemed happy to clarify.

“What makes him interesting is he’s private, but he’s an NIL football player in the process. So you have to kind of break that down because usually that’s not the case and you wanna know does he have humility. Can he self asses and say I’ll take on the ship of what he needs to work on and what he needs to improve,” the Bears GM listed out his criteria for testing Caleb Williams, and the result was pleasant music to the analysts’ ears.

“He’s checked all of the boxes so far and I’ve been encouraged with the time that we’ve spent together,” Poles admitted, giving the ultimate thumbs up to Caleb Williams. Last week before USC’s Pro Day, Caleb Williams and some of his USC teammates joined general manager Ryan Poles, assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, coach Matt Eberflus, OC Shane Waldron, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown and quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph. Not only did Williams impress them the most, but also earned the green flag from head coach Matt Eberflus.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus on Caleb Williams

There was one quality of Williams that won everyone’s heart, the QB leaving his phone behind during their dinner: no texts, no social media, just pure interest in learning about the team. The reactions from the whole of the Bears team were positive. Eberflus, the head coach of the Bears, also gave the thumbs up to the QB.

“He’s an outstanding young man, and everything looks great in terms of his personality, his character, his football knowledge,” Eberflus said to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Moreover, following the dinner, Poles also mentioned that “I’m having a hard time finding a person that doesn’t like him or even loves him and (doesn’t think) that he can reach the highest limits. The feedback’s been good.”

Both of them stopped short of saying one thing- about them hiring Caleb Williams. But there are signs, green signs all around the franchise. The biggest one among them is the Bears’ need for a reliable QB since Justin Feilds’ trade. Will Caleb Williams be the perfect replacement?

READ MORE: Caleb Williams Quashes Doubts Around His “Problematic” Personality by Setting Expectations Straight Heading Into NFL