Bears are putting unnecessary pressure on Caleb Williams already

I remember around this time three years ago that Justin Field was anointed as the savior of Chicago. I thought he could have decent success leading an NFL franchise, but he also had to overcome the perpetual dysfunction associated with the Chicago Bears. Guess who won out in the end? Now that Fields is making noise as a backup in Pittsburgh, Chicago is ready to give Caleb Williams its crown.

In Windy City Gridiron's 10 Bears with the most to prove in 2024, Bill Zimmerman has Williams listed third. While any No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner carries a ton of pressure, what are we doing here? He is a 20-something fresh out of college, coming off a terrible 7-5 season as the USC Trojans starting quarterback. Williams is insanely talented, but he also thinks very highly of himself.

Although I firmly believe that Williams' talent will prevail in the end, we can only hope he is some variation of Cam Newton and not Jeff George. Saying he is the next Patrick Mahomes, which I have been guilty of, is not doing this quarterback any favor. Williams is going to a franchise where there has never been a 4,000-yard passer, an organization that celebrates 1985 more than Bowling For Soup.

Let's unpack why putting unrealistic pressure on Williams is an awful idea, but so on par for Chicago.

Putting unnecessary pressure on Caleb Williams is a foolish concept

I lived in Chicago from 2018 to 2021. While teams like the Bears, Bulls and Cubs were good at times, none of them were honestly championship-caliber. What was a common thread throughout was a constant premature anointment of players to stardom before they were ready for it, or earned it. Guys like Javy Baez, Lonzo Ball and Mitch Trubisky crumbled under the pressure. Fields had little chance...

While I saw first-hand how passionate of a sports town Chicago is, the insatiable need to put a young player on a pedestal wore me out. Every city can be guilty of this every now and then, but Chicago takes the cake. In a way, the unrealistic pressure from the fans warps the minds of questionable ownership to even begin with into a state of middling megalomania. Man, do they love to have control?

Frankly, the great people of Chicago deserve better out of their franchises, but it all starts with being objective and not so fanboy fanatical. I am picking Williams to lead the Bears to the NFC playoffs as a wild-card team and will be in the mix with Jayden Daniels for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. You are looking at him playing like Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck and C.J. Stroud did in their rookie seasons.

What I think we fail to realize is these are kids, man. Your brain is not fully formed until you are 24 years old. Outside of Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., the other first-round rookies are 23 years old or younger, and nobody likes you when you're 23. What's my age again? 34 going on 35 ... I haven't seen everything, but I have seen enough to make this claim. Let Williams grow and mature at his own pace.

Williams is the third starting-level quarterback the Bears have drafted in the first round since moving on from Jay Cutler. He was not as beloved as Fields, but he was probably the best Bears quarterback the team had since Jim McMahon. Forever chasing the ghost of Sid Luckman, we have to wonder when the Bears and its fanbase will take a look in the mirror and say enough is enough is enough!

Winning in Chicago can be amazing, but is incredibly difficult. Don't make it harder on the No. 1 pick.