The NFL season is officially over, and the talk around the league right now is what the Bears will do with the first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Bears’ fan base is divided by this decision, as many believe that they already have the best pick in Justin Fields. However, many are also not so swayed by Justin Fields’ performance last season.
Personally, I’m a firm believer that the Chicago Bears should draft the young talent Caleb Williams. Looking back at the past few years with Justin Fields, many say that Fields isn’t the problem in Chicago, but it’s the coaching and the players around him, though this may be true Justin Fields has been through several staff changes throughout his Chicago career.
“Especially with a contract year coming up, Caleb Williams would be going in with a rookie contract, so financially, Caleb Williams is the better option,” said senior Hayden Cook.
With this in mind, it would make sense to get a brand-new quarterback and also clean out the staff with a new coaching team. A clean slate.
Caleb Williams has also been regarded as a “generational talent” by many scouts. This means that Caleb Williams will be the best of the best, even if he doesn’t have the weapons or a high-class team around him.
Looking at his college career, Caleb Williams went to USC and threw for 3,633 yards his junior year and 4,537 his sophomore year. He threw for a combined 72 touchdowns during those two years.
These stats are not typical of a run-of-the-mill college quarterback; Caleb Williams is the real deal.
Another plus is that Caleb Williams is not being thrown into the worst situation if the Bears draft him.
Historically, the first quarterbacks to be drafted are usually drafted to help fix losing and suffering teams. However, the Bears have a bright future and picked up the slack at the end of the season.
For example, newly acquired receiver DJ Moore has been making waves with quarterback Justin Fields. Moore was able to amass 3 touchdowns with the help of Fields, who wasn’t restricted by his offensive coordinator.
The Bears have one of the best defenses in the NFL and have a hardened wide receiver in DJ Moore. Obviously, Caleb would be there to upgrade the offense, but there are viable weapons around him.
The other side of taking Caleb Williams is that Chicago must say goodbye to Justin Fields.
Justin Fields has been the Bears quarterback for the past 4 years, and since then he has been wild to watch. Justin Fields broke the rushing record two years ago, showing off his speed.
“Fields has potential [[…]] he’s a great leader, he gets my hopes up,” says senior Noah Mottet.
Many believe that Justin Fields can still be the head guy in Chicago with the right staff, but I don’t think he can anymore.
What I mean by this is that the Bears organization has already been through multiple different staff changes, and nothing much has changed.
“If you wanna win Super Bowls, Justin Fields isn’t the guy,” said senior Ben Pavlick.
After watching Justin Fields run around, the next season fans saw Fields throw more. He threw the ball a lot more, and made a lot more screen passes. But even with throwing more, it still wasn’t enough to have a successful season.
I believe that Justin Fields would be a lot more successful under a different team and their program. Teams that look to be interested are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons. Either team would be a good fit for him.
Cleaning the slate, hiring new coaching staff, and drafting more pieces would be the best course of action for the Chicago Bears. I as well as many Bears fans, trust that GM Ryan Poles will make the right decision no matter what.
I am a senior at Oswego High School. I am very active in the community. I enjoy sports and hope to one day become a sports writer. I am also an Oswego football player.
