Many people will spend the offseason taking back everything they said about Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams after his spectacular 2025 season.
Williams threw for a franchise record 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns to seven interceptions, adding another three scores on the ground. He led the most comebacks and game-winning drives in NFL history with seven.
All the positives with Williams have been showcased throughout the season, and he has now set himself up for future success. That's why many in the media now are hopping on the Williams bandwagon and ranking him among the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
ESPN's Chris Canty ranks Caleb Williams among NFC quarterbacks
While appearing on ESPN's First Take, former NFL player Chris Canty revealed his list of the top five NFC quarterbacks. Canty shared his thoughts as he placed Williams fifth while making a confession about how he felt about the young quarterback.
"That is a bad man. Going into last offseason, I said the Chicago Bears got the Sam Bowie of the 2024 draft class. I was wrong. This dude is like that. Now, he was at the bottom of the list in completion percentage, completion percentage above expected, and off target percentage, but that's just a lot of fancy ways of saying that he doesn't hit the layup throws consistently enough, but what this dude does do is a hand full of throws every single game that no other quarterback in the NFL can make. All you got to do is look at the fourth and forever throw to Rome Odunze that he made to beat the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. Look at the throw he made to DJ Moore for the 46-yard touchdown to beat the Green Bay Packers in the regular season. Look at the throw that man made to force overtime in the Divisional Round against the LA Rams with Cole Kmet. This dude has really improved, and the evidence of that is seeing how he's counted down on the sacks."
Canty isn't the only one who had his doubts about Williams; it's been a common problem among the media, who jumped too soon in assuming he wouldn't be good. Sure, the accuracy issues are a concern, but some of the plays he makes are something not being seen with any quarterback in the NFL right now.
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Williams is only getting better under Bears head coach Ben Johnson, and once he really gets comfortable running the offense, Chicago is going to be a tough team to beat in 2026 and beyond.