LOS ANGELES – Not a twitch of muscle. Not a hint of movement.
Ryan Poles’ face was perfectly still, sitting in the Bears’ draft room on Thursday night, as mere minutes ticked away toward a decision that would shape a town in dire need of a savior. The staff next to him, sitting in rolling chairs and couches, didn’t budge. Not a word was said, in this peek inside their war room on NFL Network, the atmosphere more akin to a third-grade classroom’s silent reading time than an NFL franchise about to decide upon their no. 1 pick.
The truth was apparent, and the Bears had completely tossed away any semblance of covering it up: Caleb Williams was a Chicago Bear. He’d been a Bear for months, really. Arguably since he declared for the draft in mid-January, his stock still fairly cemented as the top quarterback in his class. Probably, since Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus and newly-minted Bears receiver Keenan Allen all ventured out to USC’s Pro Day to see him. Certainly, since Williams eschewed any team visit except for Chicago, the two sides’ commitment to one another solidifying early.
“I don’t think I really need to learn much,” Williams said back at USC’s Pro Day of conversations with the Bears. “Just building a relationship. They trying to see if I’m the right fit to be first pick as a QB, and go and possibly be the face of the franchise.”
He was minted as that face on Thursday night at the NFL draft, the face that has so captivated USC fans for two years, fascinated national media and vexed a large population of the football world, one of the most polarizing prospects in the history of the NFL Draft simply by way of his demeanor. From the time he cried after his first game of youth tackle football – Titans against Raiders, back in the DMV – Williams has never been shy about expressing his emotions honestly, the pain after losses or the joy after wins.
And with his biggest win yet on Thursday night, selected by the Bears as USC’s sixth all-time No. 1 draft choice, Williams didn’t hold back. True to himself. He beamed all the way through the walk to the stage, bursting into a guttural “Woooooo!” upon his arrival in front of fans in Detroit, excitedly making his way later to sign a bevy of autographs from Bears fans.
“Why are you the right guy for Chicago?” the NFL Network’s Kaylee Hartung asked Williams.
“Because I care,” Williams responded. “I care about the community. I care about the fans. I care about winning games. I care about my teammates and their families, the coaches, the custodians.”
What he didn’t care about, through a beaming smile: the hordes of boos that descended when he hit the stage, from a bevy of Detroit fans who’d now have to contend with facing Williams twice a year in their division, the Heisman Trophy winner stepping into one of the best situations imaginable for a No. 1 pick. Chicago is one of the largest media markets in the country, which will only put Williams in position to continue growing the brand and sponsorship empire he amassed at USC. For a quarterback who hasn’t been shy about chasing “immortality,” as he put it before the start of his senior season, it’s an ideal landing spot.
“It’s as football-crazy a town as there is in the country,” longtime NFL agent Leigh Steinberg said of Chicago, discussing Williams’ pre-draft process with the Southern California News Group.
And Chicago is suddenly positioned for a complete offensive transformation. The Bears already had D.J. Moore, one of the best receivers in the league. They added longtime star Allen this offseason, and capped it off by selecting Washington’s Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick in the draft, an all-around threat who Williams excitedly tweeted was on the same flight with him to Detroit.
It marked a closing, of sorts, to the plan Williams and his family had set into motion since he sat with his father Carl in a hotel room after a loss in youth football, deciding to turn himself into the best quarterback possible. He’s done things his way, never more apparent than in the pre-draft process, where he chose not to sign with a traditional NFL agent and instead has handled proceedings across a widespread, trusted team – a decision that paid off with his stroll across the stage Thursday night.
“I think the sky is the limit for him,” said Carson Palmer, USC’s last No. 1 pick in 2003 and a former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback himself. “Just comes down to organization, and coaching staff, and protecting him, and all those things.”
“But there’s no doubt – I think he could be the best to ever come out of SC.”
