INDIANAPOLIS – The wait for the Caleb Williams show began early Friday morning in Hall J of the Indiana Convention Center. Doors opened at 6 a.m. and Williams, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was scheduled to take the podium at 9 a.m. local time.
With Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Marvin Harrison Jr. serving as Williams' starters, the crowd grew as the morning progressed. Harrison didn't show up, but Daniels and Maye played their role as opening acts for the top prospect in that draft.
Williams stepped out from behind the curtain, stepped onto the podium and was immediately met with an aggressive opening serve from the middle of the media crowd.
Are you afraid of being measured against the competition? Isn't that why you're judged by them or thrown out?
And then it started.
To his credit, Williams handled his first dance with the NFL media horde like a pro. He was confident, but not overly arrogant. He gave direct answers, informed his decision to skip testing and not give every team their medical tests, and offered insight into what he looks for in an NFL home.
For a man who doesn't like giving interviews, Williams navigated the podium like a collapsing bag. Expertly.
While the 15-minute media availability was reserved for all press in attendance at the combine, the Chicago group understandably dominated the session, asking questions about the Bears, their roster, quarterback history and everything else to the supposed No. 1 pick.
Williams didn't back down, showing that a three-month dance that was supposed to be about the Bears interviewing him could be the exact opposite. Williams is an elite prospect who doesn't have an agent, doesn't give his medical information to every team and doesn't throw at the combine because his tape is his resume.
If LeBron James ushered in the player empowerment era in the NBA, Williams could be the one to turn the NFL on its head. At least he will do things differently. If the Bears want to make it easier for Williams to land in Chicago, they will have to pass his tests just as he must pass theirs.
The week at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine began with Williams giving an interview to ESPN and saying he would be “excited” to play for the Bears if they stayed at No. 1 and selected him with the top pick in the draft. Williams said he wants to be No. 1. It is what he dreamed of, manifested, and worked for. This is Priority 1 because it puts you in the “one percent of the one percent” of history.
“I don’t think about the fact that I won’t be No. 1,” Williams said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I put all the hard work, time, effort and energy into being that. I don't think of a plan B. That's how I do things in my life. Stick with Plan A and if things don’t work out, find a way to make Plan A work.”
Bears general manager Ryan Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus and the Bears' power brokers arrived in Indianapolis looking forward to sitting down with Williams and the other top prospects for the first time. Poles noted the importance of getting to know “the person” who could be the Bears’ next quarterback.
Because if the Bears want to move on from Justin Fields, they need to be sure they're making the right decision.
But Fields vs. Williams was never a real debate. The Bears have known for some time that Williams' talent is exceptional. Teams have been talking about getting the chance to sign him since he showed up at Oklahoma. The choice was always going to be Williams, but the concern was whether the Bears would be the choice for the USC star.
Williams did his best this week to address some of those concerns. He said his first meeting with the Bears was good and pointed out that the 7-10 Bears are a team on the rise that is in a much better position than most teams picking No. 1 overall.
“I mean, the Bears were a [7-10] “That’s pretty good for a team that had the first pick last year,” Williams said. “They have a good defense. They have good offensive players and it's pretty exciting if you could get into a situation like that.”
That's a bonus for a player with Williams' potential. Bad luck in the NFL Draft has destroyed the careers of similar players who were given the “generational” label.
But Williams doesn't just want a good situation. He wants the right situation. One who is willing to walk his talk when it comes to putting the necessary resources behind Williams to make the most of what he hopes will be an iconic career.
“I want to go to a place that wants to win. 360,” Williams said. “From the top to the guys to the caretakers and people who make sure everything runs smoothly.” Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to be a part of it and we all care about each other.”
There's no question whether Williams will play for the Bears if they select him first overall. He will. He wants to be number 1.
But achieving the NFL success Williams seeks is about finding the right partnership between the young quarterback, the general manager, the head coach and the rest of the development team.
For Poles, Eberflus and the rest of the Bears' power brokers, the Williams commercial will test what they've built and whether or not they can begin to erase the reputation of being a quarterback graveyard.
“They were great,” Williams said of his first meeting with the Bears. “I talked more about the ball and other things about it because the interviews are so short. “They were more about getting to know me, testing my mental skills, what I know, the basic things you need to be a quarterback in the NFL.
“Ten minutes is difficult to find out if they are going to develop one. I enjoyed the meeting. It was a good meeting. But 10 minutes or so is pretty difficult.”
As far as the Bears' long, arduous search for a franchise quarterback goes, this could actually work in their favor for Williams. The USC star isn't worried about who came before him, but he understands what will allow him to make sure his name is mentioned when they tell the NFL's story.
“I don’t compare myself to the other guys that are there or have been there,” Williams said. “I am my own player and I tend to write history and rewrite history.”
“I don't play for fame, I don't play for money, I don't play for jewels and stuff like that,” Williams later said. “Just go out there and win as many games as I can and do my best. My plan is that if I do my best and play as many games as possible at my best, I think that way I can achieve certain points.” ”
Caleb Williams wants it all. He wants to be great. To maximize the God-given gifts that have already placed him in rare company. He wants to be immortal.
To achieve that, the team drafting him has to want the same thing.
So when Williams meets with the Poles and Bears executives at his pro day and at Halas Hall, his fact-finding mission continues as he tries to determine whether he and the Bears are a union that can change the course of history together.
“Do you just want to win?” Williams said when asked what else he wants to know about the Bears.
That's a question the Bears franchise has struggled to answer for a long time. At Halas Hall, not being a disaster is often seen as a victory. Last season, Eberflus cited the Bears' victory in a close game as evidence of improvement. The end-of-season press report in which Poles explained why he let the offensive staff go but kept Eberflus was akin to the owner of a shipping company saying the conductor shouldn't be fired because the train was only halfway off the tracks.
None of this will work for Williams – neither in the pre-draft process nor once he enters the building.
If Williams is going to be the guy that will transform the franchise, which many NFL evaluators believe he will be, the Bears have to be willing to change. To show that they are serious about winning. That decades of organizational incompetence are a thing of the past.
Williams will play for the Bears if they take him at No. 1. It would be difficult to back down after two public statements.
But if the union works and bears the fruit the Bears envision. They need to show Williams that they have more plans than they have in the last three decades.
The final salvo from the press suggested that the marriage between the Bears and the Williams may soon be a done deal.
Did the Bears tell you they would be No. 1?
Williams smiled, giggled and jumped off the stage as if dodging a free rusher.
“Thank you everyone,” Williams bellowed as he left the stage.
The Bears and Williams seem destined for each other.
But each party, the Bears more than Williams, still needs to answer some critical questions before they can feel comfortable tying the knot in April.
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