For the first time in his football career, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is not three times better than every other player on the field. His elite arm talent has been on display, but Williams is struggling with regular rookie bumps in the road as well as offensive line troubles around him.
Despite some high-priced additions around him on the line, Williams has very rarely been able to sit back in the pocket and let it rip. The struggled of players like Braxton Jones, Nate Davis, and Coleman Shelton will make the Bears' NFL Draft decisions even more puzzling.
While Bears rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze is fresh off his best game as a pro and will likely be in Chicago for the foreseeable future alongside DJ Moore, they did pass on Olu Fashanu, a Penn State star who played alongside Williams when the two were in high school in Washington DC.
Fashanu ended up being picked No. 11 overall by the New York Jets. While it remains to be seen just how good he ends up being, a strong start for him in the wake of Morgan Moses' injury could get some wondering if letting him go by the wayside in favor of Odunze was the right move.
Will Bears regret passing on Caleb Williams' high school LT Olu Fashanu?
Jones has been getting busted up, but the Bears don't seem inclined to give rookie third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie a shot. Teven Jenkins has been thoroughly unimpressive, while Shelton and Davis seem to be competing for who can be the more disappointing interior player.
Perhaps scariest of all, right tackle and former top draft choice Darnell Wright has seen some major regressions start to pop up. This offensive line has infected every part of the offense, which went from high-octane to extremely inconsitent.
D'Andre Swift and the running game have been reduced to nothing, and Shane Waldron clearly doesn't trust this unit to hold up long enough to see routes develop deep down the field. Williams, who came into the league with his main flaws centering around pocket presence and navigation, has been running for his life as a result.
Not only did Fashanu give up one sack in two years at Penn State, he has shown to have the versatility to play both tackle spots. Odunze is exceptional, but more performances like this from the offensive line will have fans wondering if adding a receiver via free agency and using the pick on Fashanu may have been a more prudent option.