Ryan Poles reveals one of the key trait that led him toward drafting Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in 2024
It’s clear Caleb Williams was always going to be the guy for the Chicago Bears.
The 2024 NFL Draft turned out to be a loaded class at the quarterback position after seeing the success players such as Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix have put together now two seasons into their NFL career.
But, the class was headlined by Caleb Williams, after being selected by the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick. There’s been much debate about that decision but the Bears have had no reason to second guess the decision they made that night.
Speaking with Todd McShay on his podcast The McShay Podcast at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Bears general manager Ryan Poles even called it destiny that Williams came to Chicago while revealing the one trait that made it a no-brainer decision.
Ryan Poles saw the similarities between Caleb Williams and Patrick Mahomes before the draft
“It felt like it was just meant to be, but you’re also trying to fight your biases in terms of ‘hey we gotta do homework on the other guys,’” Poles explained. “He was the one I felt was special. I think it was probably the influence of being in Kansas City with [Patrick Mahomes], where [he had] the openness to the unorthodox play. I grew up with Matt Ryan and it doesn’t look like that much anymore, it’s different. I think Andy [Reid], [Brett] Veach and John Dorsey opened my eyes to, sometimes it can look different, but the impact it can have on the team is incredible.”
When the Chiefs selected Mahomes in the first-round back in 2017, it was a bold decision and Poles was in the front office in Kansas City as the team’s director of college scouting. Without that influence from the other decision-makers in Kansas City to select Mahomes and see what he became, Poles might not have viewed Williams that highly compared to the other quarterbacks in the class.
The Bears now believe everything worked out in the best way possible and you can see the Mahomes-like flashes in Williams’ game with the way he can make those unorthodox, and simply magical, plays. While the other quarterbacks have found just a little more success with their team, it’s clear the Bears wouldn’t change a thing and have full confidence in Williams being their franchise guy.
The next stage of Caleb Williams’ development is going to be critical
Year 1 after drafting Caleb Williams was a disaster, and it’s something everyone involved can firmly say. It just wasn’t the best environment for a rookie quarterback to succeed in and Poles recognized that and made the necessary changes that led to hiring head coach Ben Johnson.
That decision immediately worked wonders and helped right the ship, not only for Williams, but for the entire team after putting together an 11-win season that included a trip to the playoffs.
“It felt like a breakthrough in terms of like ‘Okay we can settle that part, now we can start mastering our craft a little bit,’” Poles added.
The main part of that mastery, as Poles and Johnson have publicly mentioned now since the season ended is cleaning up Williams’ efficiency as a passer. Williams’ completion percentage of 58.1 was far below the mark Johnson laid out and among the league’s worst, despite all the success the offense had. That’s what caused games to be so close that forced Williams into making miraculous comebacks all season long until the magic finally ran dry.
But, he’s proven to be coachable and willing to learn. Williams strives to be the best of the best in this league and now has the environment to help him reach that level.
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