Caleb Williams Is Already Better Than $55 Million QB, Says NFL Analyst
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Chicago Bears didn't quite have the season some predicted they would have in 2024 after drafting former USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick last April.
After trading Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers to take Williams with the top pick, Chicago actually regressed by two games from its 7-10 season in 2023. And though the team only won five games, Williams actually looked the part of a franchise QB.
The Bears surrounded Williams with better offensive weapons than Fields had—they added Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen via trade, drafted wideout Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick, and signed Pro Bowl running back D'Andre Swift—which led to the fifth-most single-season passing yards (3,541) by any Bears QB in franchise history.
Williams also threw the fewest interceptions (six) of any Bears passer with 20 or more touchdown passes, and his 87.8 passer rating was the fifth-highest among Bears QBs who threw for 3,000 or more yards in a single season, per Pro Football Reference.
More NFL: Jonnu Smith Sends Clear Message to Dolphins After Steelers Trade
Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears takes off running looking for a receiver late in the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 05, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears takes off running looking for a receiver late in the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 05, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.)
For those reasons and more, FS1 host Danny Parkins believes Williams is already better than one of the highest-paid QBs in the NFL — Jordan Love, whose $55 million-per-year salary puts him in a four-way tie with Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Buffalo's Josh Allen, and Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence as the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL, behind only Dallas' Dak Prescott ($60 million).
"How about this — Caleb Williams is already better than Jordan Love," Parkins recently said on "First Things First." "How about that? No one believes that. It's OK. I'm sorry, but it's true. Jordan Love has played the majority of two seasons. Both of those seasons, double digit interceptions.
"Here's the thing about Jordan Love — the guy had 11 interceptions both years that he played. Caleb Williams played 17 games last year and he had six."
And while Williams and Love is more of an apples-to-oranges comparison, Parkins does raise some intriguing points about the two passers.
More NFL: Patrick Mahomes Doesn't Hesitate to Name Greatest Pass-Rusher He's Ever Faced
Quarterback Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC Wild Card Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field on January 12, 2025 in...
Quarterback Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC Wild Card Playoff at Lincoln Financial Field on January 12, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More"Caleb Williams' offensive coordinator was fired nine games into his rookie year with the worst offensive line in the league, and they fired his head coach three weeks after they fired his offensive coordinator," he continued. "...Jordan Love has Matt LaFleur of the Sean McVay tree. Everything in the world has been catered to him. Jordan Love."
Love and Wiliams had similar completion percentages (63.1 to 62.5) last season, but Williams actually threw for more yards (3,541 to 3,389) with fewer interceptions (six to 11) than Love did in 2024, though Love missed two games early in the year.
Williams also played behind a worse offensive line, as evidenced by his 68 sacks taken to Love's 14. He was also pressured on 241 drop backs to Love's 172.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
Buffalo Bills players under the most pressure in 2025
The Buffalo Bills are a clear Super Bowl contender over the past few NFL seasons and that's not going to change in 2025. Not only that, the team will be depending on some younger players to make big impacts throughout the year. All in all, there is plenty of pressure to go around. Here are Bills Wire's players under the most pressure in 2025: WR Keon Coleman Coleman had a decent start to his NFL career as a rookie but slowed down. A hand injury played a part there. Regardless, after the Bills decided not to make a splash wide receiver addition this offseason which means the team is counting on him to make an impact. RB James Cook Cook is here because of his own doing. The Pro Bowl rusher is entering the final year of his rookie contract and has been vocal about wanting to get paid. Cook has yet to land a big extension and if that does not come before the start of the season, Cook will be under a microscope with free agency pending. CB Maxwell Hairston Any top rookie draft pick has plenty of pressure on them. Hairston is no exception. The Bills would love if Hairston becomes a solid starting cornerback across from Christian Benford right out of the gate. Easier said than done. QB Josh Allen Allen is the reigning NFL MVP from the 2024 season. In a way, that address pressure. What is Allen lacking on his resume? You guessed it, a Super Bowl, and the Bills will go where Allen takes them.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Patrick Mahomes crowns division rival NFL's best pass rusher
Patrick Mahomes knows all about Maxx Crosby. That's the beauty of an NFL divisional rivalry. The Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders face each other twice per season, giving familiarity plenty of opportunity to breed contempt. But while Mahomes may hate seeing a 255-pound, trash-talking monster and two-time All-Pro edge rusher lining up across from him, he certainly respects him. Advertisement Not long after Crosby called Mahomes the league's best quarterback, the three-time Super Bowl MVP returned the favor. While talking about the Chiefs-Raiders rivalry with Up & Adams host Kay Adams, he singled out Crosby as "the best pass rusher I've played against." 'I think he's sacked me the most out of anyone I've ever played against, so to me, he's the best pass rusher I've played against,' Mahomes told Adams. 'So, no offense to any other pass rusher, just putting it out there. But he is the best one that I've gone up against because he goes out there and he gives you the effort, he has the moves, and he has the skill. And I think it's hard to have all three of those and have them year in and year out.' Crosby is responsible for six of Mahomes' 184 regular season sacks and the Raiders are tied with the Denver Broncos as the two teams who've sacked the two-time MVP the most (25 each). Crosby's gotten to Mahomes more times than Von Miller (four), Khalil Mack (3.5) or Myles Garrett (two). Advertisement Mahomes also handled Crosby's A+ trash talk as diplomatically as possible thanks to the help of bountiful sports cliches. 'There's so much healthy respect, but when we get on that football field, it's going to be trash talk," said Mahomes. "It's going to be going out there, he's going to try to get to me, I'm going to be trying to make big plays happen. But those are the guys — I always say, obviously, he's on the other team, so I want to go against him and beat him. That's the guys you want on your team, the guys who are going to leave it all out there, no matter what the score is, and be the best they can possibly be every snap.' This article originally appeared on For The Win: Patrick Mahomes crowns division rival NFL's best pass rusher
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Patrick Mahomes crowns division rival NFL's best pass rusher
Patrick Mahomes knows all about Maxx Crosby. That's the beauty of an NFL divisional rivalry. The Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders face each other twice per season, giving familiarity plenty of opportunity to breed contempt. But while Mahomes may hate seeing a 255-pound, trash-talking monster and two-time All-Pro edge rusher lining up across from him, he certainly respects him. Not long after Crosby called Mahomes the league's best quarterback, the three-time Super Bowl MVP returned the favor. While talking about the Chiefs-Raiders rivalry with Up & Adams host Kay Adams, he singled out Crosby as "the best pass rusher I've played against." 'I think he's sacked me the most out of anyone I've ever played against, so to me, he's the best pass rusher I've played against,' Mahomes told Adams. 'So, no offense to any other pass rusher, just putting it out there. But he is the best one that I've gone up against because he goes out there and he gives you the effort, he has the moves, and he has the skill. And I think it's hard to have all three of those and have them year in and year out.' Crosby is responsible for six of Mahomes' 184 regular season sacks and the Raiders are tied with the Denver Broncos as the two teams who've sacked the two-time MVP the most (25 each). Crosby's gotten to Mahomes more times than Von Miller (four), Khalil Mack (3.5) or Myles Garrett (two). Mahomes also handled Crosby's A+ trash talk as diplomatically as possible thanks to the help of bountiful sports cliches. 'There's so much healthy respect, but when we get on that football field, it's going to be trash talk," said Mahomes. "It's going to be going out there, he's going to try to get to me, I'm going to be trying to make big plays happen. But those are the guys — I always say, obviously, he's on the other team, so I want to go against him and beat him. That's the guys you want on your team, the guys who are going to leave it all out there, no matter what the score is, and be the best they can possibly be every snap.'
