These two Caleb Williams stats will only further Bears draft regrets

The Chicago Bears are rapidly falling out of the postseason race in the rough and tumble NFC North. This was always going to happen — Chicago just isn't on the same timeline as Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota — but the extent to which the Bears are imploding was not so easy to predict. Chicago began the season fairly strong, but the last few weeks have brought the wayward direction of this franchise into sharp focus.

Chicago has lost three straight to fall below .500 in a division loaded with postseason contenders. The quarterback position, once again, has been more of a weakness than a strength. We shall see what happens with Thomas Brown calling plays instead of Shane Waldron, who was relieved of his offensive coordinator duties this week, but Brown has been in charge of Chicago's passing attack all season. That has left much to be desired. Meanwhile, Matt Eberflus continues to lose the confidence of his fandom with each passing week.

Caleb Williams was supposed to be Chicago's savior — the most hyped QB prospect in recent memory, equipped with all the attributes scouts covet in a modern signal-caller. He's a major athlete, blessed with a knack for extending plays, scrambling in a pinch, or launching the football into the stratosphere with a supercharged right arm.

For all his talent, however, Williams doesn't seem to have his act together yet. The Bears rookie has struggled rather significantly in recent weeks, and the advanced stats paint a grim portrait.

Caleb Williams has been uniquely terrible during Bears recent skid

Nobody here would deny the raw athleticism and skill at Williams' disposal. He can out-run, out-throw, and out-maneuver just about any quarterback in the NFL. What often matters more than raw talent, however, is one's ability to apply said talent in the context of a live NFL game. The disparity between college football and professional football is vast, and Williams doesn't appear to be very comfortable in his new surroundings.

Williams' accuracy and sack avoidance have been... less than ideal. By those metrics, he's performing worse than Bryce Young and Zach Wilson, which isn't the company you want to keep as a top draft pick at the quarterback position. Wilson feels like an especially worthwhile point of comparison. Pre-draft, Wilson was lauded for his dynamic athleticism and potential dual-threat skill set. It never panned out in the NFL, though, because the decision-making was too rough.

In theory, Williams has the mobility to avoid sacks and extend plays, but it's not happening in practice. The Bears' O-line is a disaster, which is beyond Williams' control, but we've seen plenty of young quarterbacks figure it out behind crappy O-lines. At least figure it out more than Williams has.

The accuracy is doubly troublesome. Williams can freestyle outside the pocket and throw all the deep bombs he wants, but none of it matters if he can't consistently connect. Chicago invested major resources in the WR position this summer. Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, and Rome Odunze are all gifted pass-catchers. Williams has the targets, he's just not hitting them.

It's too early to hit the panic button — rookies deserve more than nine games to figure it out — but the early returns are awfully concerning for such a highly touted prospect. With Jayden Daniels putting up Pro Bowl numbers in DC, Chicago fans will be especially anxious to start seeing results out of their No. 1 overall pick.

The product of the Bryce Young trade can't be another Bryce Young... can it?