When it comes to sheer physical talent, Caleb Williams is in the upper tier among his NFL quarterback peers. But a big thing that was prevalent on scouting reports before the 2024 draft came to fruition during his rookie season, as he struggled to play "on schedule" and took all kinds of pressures and sacks as a result.
Head coach Ben Johnson is tasked with getting Williams on the right track. It's also fair to say Williams started from square one when Johnson arrived in a lot of simple respects, so there's been some building to do there to go with learning a new offense.
Williams is the naturally lightning rod when the Bears lose. But after the defense got embarrassed by the Detroit Lions in Week 2, that has been tempered some heading into what looks to be a get-right game for Williams and the offense.
At this point, growth from Williams is important to see. Things have not been flawless through two games, but he's not been anywhere near the biggest problem for the Bears. Johnson set the completion percentage bar for him this season at 70 percent, and while he's not there yet (62.4 percent), his expected completion percentage according to Next Gen Stats is right there (70.1 percent; third-best in the league).
PFF points to clear point of progress for Caleb Williams
In Pro Football Focus' quarterback rankings for Week 3, Williams comes in at No. 17. But writer Nick Akridge highlighted the highest-graded quarterback from Week 2 in multiple areas, and Williams had the highest overall grade from a clean pocket (92.3). Of particular note, he had a 90.4 passing grade when kept clean against the Lions.
"It may come as a surprise, but Caleb Williams was highly effective when kept clean on Sunday. He completed 18-of-25 passes for 199 yards with two big-time throws, no turnover-worthy plays and an 83.3% adjusted completion rate."
"That marks two straight strong showings when kept free from pressure — a promising trend, as performance when kept clean is one of the most stable indicators of future quarterback success."
If not for two dropped passes, Williams numbers when kept clean against Detroit would've been even better. While he wasn't bad with a clean pocket last season (74.8 overall grade; 70.9 passing grade), he has taken a notable step there so far this season (90.0 overall grade, 86.1 passing grade).
Williams' PFF grades when pressured and blitzed are worse through two games this season than they were last season, particularly when blitzed. However, as this season's sample size increases, that should even out.
Read more: PFF is (mostly) higher than anyone on key Bears' defender's work this season
Williams has to show he can succeed from the pocket, and as Akridge noted, everything else for a quarterback tends to flow from getting it done when kept clean. Then his rare physical talent can shine like it's supposed to, on off-schedule plays, etc.