Six quarterbacks were selected within the first 12 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Caleb Williams (No. 1), Jayden Daniels (No. 2), Drake Maye (No. 3), Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8), J.J. McCarthy (No. 10), and Bo Nix (No. 12).
Through the first five weeks of the 2025 NFL season, the second-year quarterbacks are on teams that are currently .500 or better.
Williams recognizes that the 2024 quarterback class has the potential to solidify some long-term starters at the position.
“It’s a pretty (good) class, right?” Williams said. “Six QBs going within the first round and first 12. So, it's a pretty good draft class. Obviously, guys are playing well, just about all the guys, so I think it's going to turn out like a good class. I’ll be competing versus these guys for a long time and I’m excited about it.”
Williams isn't the only one who has noticed how good the 2024 QB draft class has been
While Ben Johnson was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, he acknowledged that the Lions evaluated quarterbacks from the 2024 class, and Williams and Daniels were both players the team did their homework on during the draft process.
“I thought it was a really strong class coming out,” Johnson said. “It's probably one of the stronger in recent history. Caleb obviously felt highly about him; that is part of the reason why I wanted to come here, and I haven't been disappointed with him whatsoever. He continues to get better, elite arm strength, the ability to extend plays. I don't think a whole lot differently for Jayden. Jayden's an extremely accurate thrower of the football. Something that I think is overlooked when you look at him because he is so dynamic with his legs, and he hurts teams so much on the ground as well. I think there are probably a lot of similarities. I think these are two ascending quarterbacks in this league, and I think we're going to be talking about them for a long time in the future.”
Williams has played against Daniels, Maye, and McCarthy so far from the draft class and has lost each of those matchups, but on Monday night, the Bears’ quarterback will get an opportunity to face Daniels’ Commanders for a second time.
A Bears’ win against the Commanders would help silence the talk about the Hail Mary that plummeted the Bears’ 2024 season, and give Williams his first victory over a quarterback in his class.
During Wednesday's media availability at Halas Hall, Williams didn't mention that last year's loss to the Commanders stung, nor did he emphasize this Week 6 game as a "revenge title." He has his focus elsewhere.
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"It's being able to focus on us, this team's different than last year," Williams said. "The coaching obviously is different. A bunch of things are different. So, being able to focus on us and be able to lead these guys the way that they need to be led and be able to go out there and focus on what we need to focus on to be able to go win the game at the end of the day.”