JUST IN: Chicago Bears Ryan Poles made an overwhelming Decision selecting Caleb Williams as the top pick in the draft

With the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears will be able to select from among the best quarterback prospects.

There is a widespread belief that Caleb Williams will be the Bears’ first draft choice. At the beginning of this week, the Bears dispatched a sizable contingent of staff to Southern California in order to observe USC’s Pro Day and start filling in the last gaps in their assessment of Williams. Williams only agreed to meet with the Bears prior to his Pro Day on Wednesday.

The most important thing to remember from USC’s Pro Day is that Williams will be the Bears’ next starting quarterback.

The Bears are hopeful that Williams’ selection will finally address the quarterback situation, but until that decision is formally made, they must thoroughly evaluate every quarterback prospect at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft Class.

The Bears will be in attendance at Michigan’s Pro Day on Friday for that reason.
This year, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is a highly sought-after prospect whose status has increased since the NFL Scouting Combine. Ryan Poles needs to get this review completed, even though it’s unlikely that the Bears will be as dominant as they were against USC on Wednesday.

It’s not that Ryan Pace, Poles’ predecessor, failed to draft Mitch Trubisky in 2017; rather, it was the method by which he arrived at that decision. Due to his intense focus on Trubisky, Pace took short cuts when evaluating Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. Though it’s still quite possible that the Bears would have chosen Trubisky, Pace would have realized there was a better choice if they had gone through a similar screening procedure with all three quarterbacks.

Poles has demonstrated his superiority over Pace by providing Williams with a smooth transition. However, Poles’ willingness to assess the quarterback class as a whole highlights how crucial it is to be confident in the choice. Poles will know they didn’t skimp when the Bears choose Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.