Things can't be a whole lot worse for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams than they were during his rookie season. Continuity wound up being a myth, with two head coaches and three offensive coordinators by season's end, so the talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 just couldn't consistently shine through.
The focus of the Bears' offseason was to fortify the structure around Williams, and they turned over all possible stones to get that done. There will be credible coaching (led by head coach Ben Johnson), the interior of the offensive line was upgraded and two new weapons were added in the draft.
Williams gets a mulligan for not instantly becoming the Bears' savior under center during a turbulent rookie season. That said, the pressure is on him to deliver according to his talent during his second season. He is not the first rookie quarterback to struggle with some of the things he did, but he especially has to handle pass rush pressure better than he did and a year of experience will only help there.
Big prediction for Caleb Williams would rewrite Bears' record book
Jeff Chadiha of NFL.com has offered up 10 "way-too-early" bold predictions for the 2025 season. He went there with Williams, tabbing the Bears' signal caller for 4,500 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.
"There's a lot of anticipation surrounding the Bears' second-year quarterback and his ability to make good on all the promise that made him the top pick in the 2024 draft. One thing that shouldn't be doubted is whether he'll become the first Chicago signal-caller to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Williams won't just reach that barrier; he'll blow it away, especially when considering all the advantages he has working for him now. The Bears hired the best offensive mind available to be their head coach in Ben Johnson. They've rebuilt the offensive line, drafted more pass catchers (tight endColston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III) and filled more holes on the defense. Williams threw for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns last season when he was running for his life and trying too hard to extend plays. Better coaching and an improved supporting cast will make life much easier for him, and the numbers will bear that out.
The Bears' lackluster history at quarterback is well-known, and there's no need to re-hash it. But this stands out.
For all Williams' struggles as a rookie, he put up the fifth-most passing yards in franchise history for a season (3,541).
As Chadiha mentioned, simply getting to 4,000 passing yards would make the Williams the first quarterback in Bears' history to reach that mark. 4,500 yards would set a new franchise record by a notable margin.
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Erik Kramer set the Bears' single-season record for passing yards in 1995 (3,838), and that same season he also set the single-season franchise record for touchdown passes (29). So 35 touchdown passes for Williams would set that single-season franchise record with some room to spare as well.
Last season, 4,500 passing yards would have been tied for third in the NFL and 35 passing touchdowns would've tied for fifth-most in the league. Williams can fall a bit short of those numbers this year and still deliver a breakout season. But if he did get to them both, any lingering negative narrative about him would be totally rewritten; alongside the top of the Bears' passing game record book.