The Chicago Bears appeared to reach their decision at quarterback around March of this year, once their evaluations were done and they’d met with Caleb Williams. However, with Jayden Daniels off to a historic start in Washington, some can’t help but wonder if the Bears made the same mistake they did with Mitch Trubisky in 2017. They became too infatuated with one quarterback and didn’t do their due diligence in evaluating the other top options in the class. Is this Patrick Mahomes all over again?
Head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about this in advance of the Bears’ visit to Washington for a big-time matchup with the Commanders. Did they evaluate Daniels thoroughly and were they high on him? Eberflus set the record straight.
“Yeah, no question. He is a talent, a big talent as you can see that in the first part of the games. He’s got a real good future ahead of him. You can certainly see how he reads the field, how he sees, his vision, his anticipation, his accuracy, his ability to escape when he needs to, his ability to do the QB runs if they ask him to do that, athleticism. He’s a big talent.”
Jayden Daniels had some key red flags that likely scared Bears away.
Chief among them was his body type. Though an incredible athlete with speed for days, he also has a thinner build. That led many to wonder if he could hold up to the types of hits he would experience in the NFL. Injuries dotted his college career. Quarterback availability has been a constant issue for the Bears going back years. Only three times since 1990 has somebody started a full season for them. Justin Fields endured plenty of injuries across his three years, and Poles and Eberflus probably didn’t want to experience more of that with Jayden Daniels. The fact the #2 pick is already dealing with a rib injury reinforces that sentiment. Given how Williams has played lately, there is zero regret with the decision.
Chicago may not even see the NFL’s newest darling next week. If not, the Bears are in a premium position to upset Washington on the road and get to 5-2. One can imagine Williams would regret not being able to prove himself against his new rival.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
I’m sure they considered Jayden but in the end, the Bears got the quarterback they felt was the best fit for the organization. I’m still a fan of Justin Fields and didn’t want to see him go but It’s hard to disagree with this decision. Caleb is the real deal and only scratching the surface. I can’t wait to see what his ceiling will be. Go QB18 and go Bears.
Agree with almost all posters, in that this is declaring the winner of the Indy 500 after one lap. Let’s see how careers play out. Coming out, I liked Williams most, I thought Maye was good, but not to the level of Williams, and I worried about Daniels, mainly because he only had one good year, and did it with the #2 and #4 overall wideouts (draft positions). A big question for me was ‘Were the WRs good because of Daniels, or was Daniels good because of the WRs?’ Hard to say from my vantage as a fan with a… Read more »
More trash from Eric and sally….nothing worth seeing here like usual
Perhaps Caleb could get lifts for inside his cleats and Daniels eat more KFC extra crispy. Problems solved!
It’s funny how we are having these conversations through 6-7 games. Can we at least play out the year. Let’s also keep in mind that Daniels runs a simpler offense. CW has done a good job of reading at the line and adjusting.