Can Caleb Williams take another step after establishing himself as the Chicago Bears' franchise quarterback? Following a shaky rookie season in 2024, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft bounced back with a breakout second season in 2025.
Under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears' young quarterback made the expected strides in his second season, leading the team to the NFC North title while showcasing the traits that made him the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Behind a much-maligned offensive line, Williams proved effective with his elusiveness in the pocket and clutch ability in leading the Bears to six fourth-quarter comebacks. Overall, he threw for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns while adding 388 rushing yards. His performance earned him a debut on the NFL Top 100 Players list. Coming in at No. 51, NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman highlighted highlighted the accomplishment that showed Williams had become the face of the franchise.
Bergman writes:
“Most impressively, aside from the highlight-reel throws and escapes, the QB led Chicago to its first division title since 2018 and first playoff win since 2010. What's next for the Madden NFL 27 cover athlete after his NFL Top 100 debut? Perhaps becoming the first Bears QB to throw for at least 4,000 yards in a season.”
Caleb Williams' next step is becoming one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks
Whether Williams can sustain that level of play and take another leap in Year 3 will largely depend on the talent around him. The team traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills in the offseason but have two young receivers in Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III who are emerging as top-level playmakers in the league. Williams should also benefit from a tight end group featuring Cole Kmet, second-year standout Colston Loveland and rookie Sam Roush, the No. 69 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Could that supporting cast help Williams eclipse 4,000 passing yards while improving on the 58.1 completion percentage that ranked 32nd among 33 qualified quarterbacks in 2025? Discussing this potential area of growth, Williams explained that both his pocket manipulation and his tendency to throw the ball away contributed to his lower completion rate.
"I throw the ball away the most to try and keep us in advantageous positions because I know coach will go for it on fourth down," Williams said in early July, via Bears Wire. "So, I'm not fearful of only having three downs. I also know our ability and how explosive we are, so I'm not fearful of, like I said, throwing out of bounds, dirting it. I obviously scramble and people count my scramble seconds of holding the ball, but it's a bunch of different things that I can go into that I know that people speak about. Stats aren't always something that you should look at. You should look at how they win games."
Williams is right. The eye test and the end results tell the story of Williams’ success in his second season in the NFL. Stats aren’t everything, but if the third-year quarterback can get his completion percentage above 60 percent while still doing all the things that made him unique in his second season, then the Bears will be back at the top of the division and perhaps be a threat to go deeper in the playoffs than a year ago.
If Williams pushes that completion percentage above 65 percent while continuing to produce the clutch moments and highlight-reel plays that defined his second season, he won't just cement himself as the Bears' franchise quarterback, he'll enter the conversation as one of the NFL's top 10 quarterbacks in Year 3.
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