Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has shortly develop into one of many faces of the NFL following his breakout sophomore season the place he established himself as one of the vital clutch and thrilling younger gamers within the league.
Williams captivated the town of Chicago and the NFL world along with his inconceivable throws and spectacular escapability, whereas setting a franchise single-season passing document and NFL document for many fourth-quarter comebacks (together with the postseason).
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CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell believes Williams is among the many most overrated quarterbacks heading into 2026, citing his low completion proportion and turnover struggles within the postseason. Also among the many most overrated: Williams’ draft mate Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos and Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The excessive stage of common reward for Williams as the primary Bears quarterback with a pulse since, maybe, the pre-2010 NFC championship sport Jay Cutler is just a little a lot. The motive Chicago fell behind in each of their 2025 playoff video games and misplaced in extra time to the Rams is due to Williams’ inefficiency. He morphed right into a turnover machine within the postseason, throwing two interceptions whereas finishing simply 24 of his 48 passes (50%) within the win in opposition to the Packers earlier than throwing three extra interceptions on 23 of 42 passing (54.8%) in opposition to Los Angeles. The third interception in opposition to the Rams got here in extra time and doomed the Bears to defeat.
That excessive stage of inefficiency within the postseason wasn’t an outlier. He led the NFL in 2025 with 12 video games possessing a completion proportion of 60% or decrease, and no different quarterback registered a double-digit variety of video games in that class. Cam Ward was the closest with eight such video games. The Bears’ sign caller completed the 2025 common season with a 58.1% completion proportion, the second-worst within the league amongst 33 certified quarterbacks. He completed forward of solely Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his 57.6% determine — one which was so dangerous they introduced in Arizona Cardinals castoff Kyler Murray to compete with their former tenth total decide quarterback for the beginning job. Williams’ fundamentals nonetheless want loads of sprucing.
When folks criticize Williams, they all the time level to his completion proportion as the primary motive why. But while you have a look at a few of the league’s prime quarterbacks, they’d low completion percentages of their first few seasons within the league, most notably Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen.
The turnover criticism looks like a attain given Williams was probably the greatest at defending the soccer in his first two seasons, throwing a complete of 13 interceptions to 47 touchdowns in that span. Yes, he threw a mixed 5 interceptions in these two postseason video games, however just a few of these got here on fourth down that acted extra like a punt and resulted in worse subject place for the opposition. His turnovers within the postseason are extra of an outlier than a development while you look at Williams’ whole two season resume. Still, he is acquired lots to show in Year 3.
There’s no denying that there is been a ton of hype surrounding Williams this offseason, and rightfully so after his breakout sophomore marketing campaign, nevertheless it’s onerous to say he is “overrated” earlier than giving him an opportunity to show he is worthy of the pre-season hype. Let’s revisit this matter on the finish of the 2026 season.
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This article initially appeared on Bears Wire: CBS Sports believes Bears QB Caleb Williams is overrated