Why QB Caleb Williams was big beneficiary of Bears' draft haul
At his first NFL Scouting Combine as general manager three years ago, Ryan Poles said the Bears had researched the best ways to help Justin Fields. They combed through NFL history and found at least one common denominator with quarterbacks who made a Year 2 leap, he said: “a dependability piece” at receiver.
“Sometimes it can be a slot receiver, sometimes it can be a second tight end, it can be a big [receiver] outside,” Poles said then.
The Bears never found that piece for Fields.
Over the past few days, though, they drafted exactly that for their new Year 2 quarterback, Caleb Williams. He was the biggest beneficiary of the Bears’ draft weekend. Even though the Bears never drafted someone to block his blind side, they picked a tight end first and slot receiver second.
“Any time you can get the ball in playmakers’ hands quickly and then make plays after that, your completion percentage goes up — and that's really good for the quarterbacks and the offense,” Poles said Saturday night at the conclusion of his fourth draft. “A lot of these guys you see on our team in terms of the weapons, they can separate. And that's when you see guys open. It's a lot easier than throwing guys open.”
The hope this year is that the team’s top two picks give Williams easier throws, personnel mismatches and an advantage he didn’t have last season.
Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, whom the Bears took 10th overall Thursday, played in the slot 48% of the time last year. Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden, drafted in Round 2 Friday, played 85% of his snaps out of the slot last season. Three-quarter of Burden’s career catches have come inside 10 yards; over the last two seasons, only two receivers in the Power 4 conferences have posted more yards after catch.
They can both be Williams’ dependability piece — in addition to receivers DJ Moore and last year’s first-round pick, Rome Odunze, and in-line tight end Cole Kmet.
“I think if you look historically, the impact that tight ends have had on young quarterbacks is pretty big,” Poles said. “Now he has two of them — plus the other guys we have on the outside and in the backfield.”
Head coach Ben Johnson played with two tight ends on the field more than all but two offensive coordinators last year. Being in “12” personnel usually creates more space in the passing game, Poles said.
“There is a multiplier effect that [Loveland] has on the whole group,” he said.
Loveland, in turn, is excited about his new quarterback.
“I love his game, just watching him throughout college," he said." He’s that man and I’m super excited. The arm talent, super smart, and just does everything right way from what I can tell .... I’m looking to build that bond, get with him and just help the Bears win.”
That was supposed to be the case last year, too, when the Bears drafted Odunze in Round 1 after trading for veteran Keenan Allen. The two rookies had an easy rapport but Williams struggled throwing to Allen, whose creative, unorthodox route techniques never quite meshed with a passer learning at the NFL level.
Having two starting-caliber tight ends in Loveland and Kmet will help the Bears run the ball — or at least threaten it — more believably than they did last year.
“I think you’re able to create mismatches, whether it be in the run and the pass, you’re not as predictable …” said Jeff King, the Bears’ senior director of player personnel. “The more you can create balance both in terms of personnel, but [also] run-pass ratio, that’s only going to help the quarterback. …
“The more that we can be unpredictable in the way that we use those guys, the better that it’s going to be for everybody.”
Particularly Williams. He was one of the worst deep ball throwers in the NFL last year, finishing 37th in adjusted completion percentage on passes of 20 yards or more. His 59.6 passer rating on such players also ranked 37th. He was sacked 68 times, which tied for the third-most of any quarterback in the history of the sport.
Getting rid of the ball quicker will help him on both fronts. Forcing the defense to play together should eventually allow for better deep shots to his many pass-catchers.
“All those guys are capable of really producing with the ball in their hands on offense,” Poles said. “It also puts a lot of stress on the defense where we're looking at good looks. And that plays right into Ben's hands in terms of how he wants to attack.”
Williams will have plenty of weapons, including Burden, the former Missouri star. Burden and Williams were supposed to play together at Oklahoma. Burden had committed to the Sooners while in high school but backed out in August 2021. Six months later, Williams transferred from Oklahoma to USC, following head coach Lincoln Riley west.
“The world works in mysterious ways,” Burden said. “So. I'm excited to finally unite with him and get to work.”
Burden was asked how he felt he and Williams would mesh once they got one the same field. He smiled.
“I feel like he’s a great quarterback — I feel like great quarterbacks need great receivers,” he said. “Perfect fit.”