5 Bears Immediately on Thin Ice to Begin 2025 Offseason

2. Caleb Williams - QB

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft isn't immune from criticism, even though a large part of the Bears' issues this season have nothing to do with him. He was given a makeshift offensive line and the worst coaching staff in the league, yet still put up strong numbers that'd look even better had Jayden Daniels not just put up one of the best rookie campaigns ever.

However, his body language hasn't inspired confidence, and his fear, largely due to the terrible offensive line, has left him taking more sacks than necessary. These are the same issues we saw pop up at USC and Oklahoma, seemingly suggesting that Williams has a maturity issue.

That's likely an unfair critique, but Williams hasn't held his composure when he needs to and improving that will be one of the biggest priorities of his offseason alongside stronger pocket presence.

That particular graph isn't fair considering the poor hand Williams was dealt. Even still, he simply must be better in a few key areas if the Bears are going to compete for a playoff spot in 2025.

Williams isn't in danger of losing his job. He's still one of the best prospects of the last decade, if not the best, yet this was still a disastrous rookie campaign based purely on results.

If you ignore the theoretical personality issues, Williams still threw for 3,393 yards and 19 TDs to just five interceptions entering Week 18. To minimize turnovers to that degree despite being in such a poor situation speaks volumes about Williams, though he won't reach his ceiling unless he cleans up the body language.

Considering that Poles is still in charge, it feels unlikely that things will immediately turn around for him. For Williams' sake, he needs to weather the storm or risk the dreaded "bust" label from a fan base desperate for success.