There were more than enough reasons to be excited about Caleb Williams when he first entered the league. He had his flaws and asterisks like all prospects, but the potential was big enough to outweigh every potential blemish.
His decision-making and accuracy -- or lack thereof -- was always near the top of the league. Way too often, he got away with erratic throws in college, and he wasn't going to be able to do that against pro-level competition.
Williams completed just 62.5 percent of his passes as a rookie, and that number dipped to 58.1 percent in year two. That's despite attempting nearly the same number of passes and having a much better offensive line, supporting cast, and play-calling situation.
That's why, in an appearance on "Pardon My Take," the former No. 1 pick acknowledged that he had to be better in that regard. While he wouldn't consider his accuracy issues a problem, he made a somewhat funny promise about fixing them.
Caleb Williams promises to be more accurate in Year 3
“Obviously I want to get that up, get the completion percentage up,” Williams said. “Some of the things that I do on the field, it negatively impacts that. But we’ll get it up just to shut everybody up and help them understand.... We’ll get it up, we’ll make everybody’s heart feel warm and lovely.”
Williams has proven that he can make every throw in the book. He can thrive on the run, make cross-body passes, and complete the wildest, most videogame-like and eyebrow-raising passes most of us have seen.
The thing is, he doesn't have to do that. The Bears probably wouldn't have to be in a position where he has to single-handedly orchestrate a heroic comeback if he were better at making the simple, routine things.
The Bears must do a better job of getting him into a rhythm by scheming more layups and easy throws for him. Just because he's talented enough to defy the odds and make highlight reel-worthy throws on every drive doesn't mean he has to go for the home run on every drop back or roll out of the pocket time and time again.
Of course, Williams isn't entirely to blame for this. He could simply rely on his talent when he was in college, and his rookie year was essentially a waste in terms of development, as Matt Eberflus clearly wasn't the right guy to teach him the ropes.
Ben Johnson takes a no-nonsense approach to teaching and coaching, and his tough love will ultimately mold Williams. More importantly, Williams wants to be one of the all-time greats, and he should only get better with more time and reps under his belt.
Caleb Williams isn't too worried about these numbers because he knows he's more than capable of doing better. He just needs to flick the switch and realize that not every play has to make it to SportsCenter.
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