Caleb Williams’ Pro Bowl teammate says he reminds him of two of the best quarterbacks he’s ever played with
The Chicago Bears started the next phase of the offseason program this week and quarterback Caleb Williams is steadily progressing within the new offensive scheme.Williams and the Bears' offense saw a big boost during Tuesday's practice with the return of veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen missed all of voluntary OTAs meaning this week is […]
The Chicago Bears started the next phase of the offseason program this week and quarterback Caleb Williams is steadily progressing within the new offensive scheme.
Williams and the Bears' offense saw a big boost during Tuesday's practice with the return of veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen missed all of voluntary OTAs meaning this week is the first opportunity for Williams to have Allen in the passing game against the team's defense.
It only took one day at mandatory minicamp for the talented rookie quarterback to receive some major praise from his new veteran target.
Entering his 12th season in the NFL, Allen has played with many talented quarterbacks over the years who have helped him earn six Pro Bowl nods and eclipse 1,000 yards during six different seasons. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer saw the majority of his success from two quarterbacks in particular, Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert.
Rivers was Allen's first quarterback when he entered the league in 2013 and the two made a formidable connection over seven seasons spanning two different cities. In 2020, the Los Angeles Chargers moved on from Rivers in favor of drafting Herbert in the first round. With Herbert, Allen's production never missed a beat after Herbert put together one of the best rookie seasons in league history and continued to build off it.
Now that Allen is in Chicago, he is once again catching passes from a young quarterback looking to make an early jump in the league. Following Tuesday's practice, Allen detailed what comparisons he's seen out of Williams so far to what he saw out of Rivers and Herbert with the Chargers.
"I think the best thing is confidence. Both of Philip and Justin had tremendous confidence," Allen said. "They believe in their arm, they believe in a talent and they believe in what they see. You got to be able to see it and you got to be able to make something happen right now. If you second guess yourself just for a little bit, and you hang on just too long, something bad happened. So, just understand what you're looking at and just make a play."
Even though the connection between the two is just getting started, and as Allen admitted will be a work in progress, the veteran play-maker has still been impressed with the talent and mindset Williams has shown on the field.
"Obviously a guy like that has tremendous talent," Allen added. "But, it's gonna be a work in progress. The huddle call, having new terminology, you just got to mix and match it and he's gonna have to grow to it."
Similar to Rivers and Herbert, Williams has a strong cast of veteran players around him who will help bring him along leading up to his first season in the league, something most rookie quarterbacks never get the luxury of having.
"I think the offense as a whole, everybody's experienced pretty much at every position except the quarterback position," Allen said. "So, as long as we're all talking to him, we're all on the same page. We're all communicating at the same level. It should be no problem."
Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus doubled down on the quarterback comparisons to the Chargers' all-time leading passer, who played with the Indianapolis Colts after leaving Los Angeles while Eberflus was still the defensive coordinator.
"I was with Philip and they're very similar in terms of their accuracy," Eberflus explained. "They put the ball on the money and that's what Phil. He had great anticipation, was a great teammate, was a super fiery guy. He really energized our team that year when we were with him. And I see Caleb the same way."
Even though the first few weeks of practice have been a tough learning curve for Williams going up against the Bears' top ranked defense, the progression is still there and everyone seems to be impressed with how quick he's catching on.
"I would really just say absorbing, learning, and having a beginner's mindset to be able to just learn, absorb, ask questions, and just keep learning," Eberflus said. "That's what's been so impressive to me about him and if he does that, he's gonna be fine."
The Bears' mandatory minicamp will continue on Wednesday and Thursday of this week before the team takes an extended break leading up to training camp.
Bears’ Mandatory Minicamp: Veteran defensive addition continues setting the tone against the growing offense
They’re not there to play nice.
