Legendary Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher has offered guidance to the team. In the 2024 NFL Draft, he has instructed them to select Caleb Williams and trade Justin Fields.
Williams is regarded as a top talent, and the Bears will now need to decide whether to stick with Fields or center their offense around the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.
Williams is still well-known even though his performance dropped off previous season. He transferred from Oklahoma to USC with head coach Lincoln Riley prior to the 2022 college football season, and he rapidly rose to the top of the quarterback ranks.
Brian Urlacher discusses Caleb Williams
They have to choose between going for Williams and sticking with Fields in order to strengthen their team in other areas through trading down. Urlacher provided an explanation when questioned about the top choice. He said,
“I would have drafted C.J. Stroud last year so you know… they had the number one pick last year. I know everyone was high on Bryce Young but look everyone always talks about the guy like they said the Bears passed up on Deshaun Watson when they took Mitch Trubisky. “Well, you could say the same thing last year. They passed up on C.J. Stroud as well. They traded that pick when they could have taken him, but I mean it’s not good to have number one picks two years in a row. Obviously, this year they got it because of the trade with Carolina but I think they have to take Caleb [Williams]. “I don’t think there’s any way around it this year. If you don’t take him and he turns out to be great, but having said that, Justin Fields played good this season. Last year as well. It’s tough. The defense really played good the second half of the season… but I think if Caleb’s available, you have to take him.”
Williams had a 23-10 record as a starter in college and threw for over 10,000 yards with 93 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. In his two seasons at USC, he scored 21 touchdowns, demonstrating his big-play ability. In addition, he had 10 games in which he scored five touchdowns or more.