A quiet emergence? How has it been quiet for Caleb Williams? Chicago Bears fans have watched the former no. 1 overall pick start blossoming into what they dreamt he could be, so why is this a "quiet" circumstance?
It's pretty obvious, if you're a Bears fan, that the media has loved to criticize this organization and, specifically, Williams. He's been under a microscope since before being drafted. And to be fair to the critics, there were some alarming trends that came out of his rookie season.
But, why is no one talking about just how efficient Williams has been this year?
Through three weeks, he ranks sixth in the NFL in EPA per play during expected passing situations (situations where an expected pass is greater than 70 percent).
Caleb Williams is doing what every doubter said he couldn't
After last year, a big criticism was that Williams wasn't good unless he was off-script. Now, take that for what it's worth, but in many situations where the pocket was clean and defenses expected him to pass, he was off-target. He sailed a lot of passes in those scenarios.
To take this proof a step further, Bears personality Harrison Graham posted some even more impressive numbers from early on this season:
On 20+ yard throws per PFF, here are his numbers this year.
7/14, 50% (T-7th)
240 Yards (4th)
2 Touchdowns (T-5th)
PFF Grade: 92.8 (7th)
6 Big Time Throws (5th)
Graham also noted that last year, Williams only completed 27.3 percent of such throws.
Whether these deep throws are coming in expected pass situations or not, Williams is delivering. He's looking more and more comfortable within Ben Johnson's offense and the crazy part is, this is only three games in.
Only a handful of games into the season, there are still going to be growing pains. There are going to be mistakes. Don't misunderstand that fact. It'll happen.
But, the positives are outweighing any negatives by a mile through three weeks.
Williams' critics said he couldn't deliver on script. They said his accuracy was a massive concern on big throws. Yet, he is proving both of those criticisms to be nothing but fluff.
Bears fans get it. He's an easy guy to poke fun at or criticize at times. People make him an easy target. After all, it is the Bears.
Read more: Bears have finally found the more reliable version of Chase Claypool
But, Williams has been one of the best quarterbacks in football early on. These are the facts, and his doubters are going to have to live with them.