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Caleb Williams is wasting no time now that he's a member of the Chicago Bears.

As virtually everyone projected, Williams was selected No. 1 overall by the Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft, officially marking a new era in Chicago.

Williams embraced NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage in Detroit
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Williams embraced NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage in DetroitCredit: Getty

The success-starved franchise have an exciting future ahead of them - one that Williams is already looking forward to.

The 22-year-old has been hailed as a generational talent, after a stellar college career with Oklahoma and the University of Southern California.

Straight after being drafted in Detroit, where a record 250,000 came out for day one of the draft, Williams told reporters what his four immediate goals are.

"Caleb Williams on first goal as a member of the Chicago Bears: Learn all my teammates names, their families, learn the playbook and get ready to go win games," ESPN's Courtney Cronin posted.

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He became tearful as he later said: "It's an honour and a privilege.

"I care about the fans, the community, the players and the coaches and I care about the Chicago Bears."

Williams will be joined in Chicago by wide receiver Rome Odunze, who was selected by the Bears with the No. 9 overall pick.

Prior to the draft the Bears had already made major steps to accommodate Williams.

The franchise moved previous starting quarterback Justin Fields to the Steelers and made tons of other big roster moves in what could potentially be a franchise-altering offseason.

Two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard and veteran safety Jonathan Owens have joined Chicago's secondary.

Elsewhere, the addition of six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen, former Eagles running back D’Andre Swift and ex Chargers TE Gerald Everett will provide plenty of offensive firepower for Williams to utilize next season.

Caleb Williams celebrates after being selected first overall by the Chicago Bears during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft
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Caleb Williams celebrates after being selected first overall by the Chicago Bears during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft

"Chicago has done a great job of building a framework around him, which is incredibly important," NFL Draft expert Matt Miller exclusively told talkSPORT.

"I would say 90 percent chance he’s a Pro Bowl quarterback and he’s going to lead Chicago to a sustained run of being a contender."

Some have questioned Williams' heart-on-his-sleeve personality and whether he'll be able to adapt to the pros.

Fortunately for Bears fans, Miller said Williams' teammates 'love him'.

"The cool thing is that his teammates love him," Miller told talkSPORT.

"He is this modern quarterback who’s not afraid to [show emotion]. It’s not like he’s slamming his helmet down on the sideline in frustration. He’s emotional.

"As long as I’ve been doing this, the big question you ask is, 'does this player love the game of football?' And so now you have a young man who realizes his college football career is over and he’s weeping on the sideline.

"I would take that 10 times out of 10 over a guy who’s bumping into his coach on the sideline or slamming his helmet down. We’ve seen bad body language from quarterbacks at times, and we’ve seen how that does affect a team.

NFL's No.1 draft pick Caleb Williams punches back at critics by saying 'your girl' loves his pink lips but his nails are 'clear'

"With Caleb, you don’t have to worry about any of that [bad boy language].

6ft 1in and 214lb Williams first made a name for himself in college at Oklahoma before following in the footsteps of previous Sooners coach Lincoln Riley to become a Trojan.

A Heisman-winning season came soon after when Williams completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 2022.

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He had a down season in 2023 as USC finished with a disappointing regular season record (7-5).

Now, he gets to spearhead a new-look Bears team and will look to have a C. J. Stroud-like impact in his rookie season.

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