There's no franchise with a longer NFL tenure than the Chicago Bears.
Though not quite as long as its history, the club's search for a bona fide Bears franchise quarterback has been a lengthy and fruitless endeavor.
For the first time in the Common Draft Era (since 1967), the Bears selected a player with the No. 1 overall pick, choosing USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams has already made history with his selection alone, but the Bears are hoping he's the answer for their seemingly endless search for an authentic franchise QB.
A closer look, thanks to NFL Research, shows just how significant Williams' selection was and the daunting history he's trying to move the franchise past.
On April 25, the Bears drafted Williams, making him the franchise's first No. 1 overall pick since 77 years prior when Chicago took running back Bob Fenimore in 1947.
The club is hoping for better fortune all these decades later, as the "Blonde Bomber" Fenimore played just one season. Evidence of just how snake-bitten the Bears have been at the quarterback position is evident in history's hindsight. A year later in 1948, the Bears acquired the rights to another player nicknamed the "Blonde Bomber" with the No. 3 overall pick, QB Bobby Layne. Layne lasted a year with the Bears before eventually settling in for a Hall of Fame career for the archrival Detroit Lions.
Bears QBs in Super Bowl Era
| Category | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Completion percentage | 56.4 | Last |
| Passing yards/attempt | 6.5 | Last |
| Passing yards per game | 175.0 | Last |
| TD-INT ratio | 0.9 | Last |
| Passer rating | 71.4 | Last |
Williams is taking the reins over from Justin Fields, with the two being the sixth and fifth quarterbacks, respectively, on whom the Bears have used a first-round pick in the Common Draft Era.
Fields (2021 first-round pick) wasn't the remedy to the Bears' ageless quarterback ills, just as Mitch Trubisky (2017), Rex Grossman (2003), Cade McCown (1999) nor Jim Harbaugh (1987) was. Jim McMahon was the first of the six when the Bears took him in 1982 out of BYU. McMahon, with his brash attitude and hardnosed play, helped the 1985 Bears win the organization's only Super Bowl, but injuries plagued his career and when all was said and done, he made just 61 starts in seven seasons for Chicago.
Bears No. 1 overall draft picks
| Player | Year drafted | No. of games played for Bears |
|---|---|---|
| QB Caleb Williams | 2024 | ??? |
| HB Bob Fenimore | 1947 | 10 |
| HB Tom Harmon | 1941 | 0 |
In reality, the search for a true navy blue franchise QB extends back to the late 1940s. That was when Hall of Famer Sid Luckman was winding down his exemplary career (and the franchise whiffed on Layne, who was traded after a year as a third-stringer).
The search for the next Sid has lingered since.
Williams is the next hopeful, seemingly a can't-miss QB prospect headed to a franchise that's historically been a no-win situation for signal-callers.
The Bears are the only NFL franchise that has never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a season OR throw for 30 touchdowns, per NFL Research. Erik Kramer's 1995 showings of 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns remain the standards in Chicago single-season chronicle.
Williams threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns in his 2022 Heisman Trophy-winning season with USC.
Williams was also the first FBS player with 30-plus TD passes and 10-plus rushing TDs in consecutive seasons since Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes (2015-16). Of course, Mahomes has won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, who took him in the 2017 first round long after the Bears took Trubisky -- though, in fairness, Mahomes wasn't projected by many to go even as high as he did at No. 10 overall.
Unlike so many of the Bears' first-rounders before him, Williams is, on paper, set up to succeed.
Per NFL Research, he's the only first-round QB to join a team with multiple players who had 1,000 yards receiving in the season prior (Keenan Allen and DJ Moore) and also drafted a first-round wide receiver in the same class (Rome Odunze). The addition of running back D'Andre Swift and the emergence of tight end Cole Kmet should also solidify Williams' skill position options.
Still, the stats and the history are daunting obstacles to hurdle.
In the Super Bowl era, Bears quarterbacks are dead last in completion percentage (56.4), passing yards per attempt (6.5), yards per game (175), TD-INT ratio (0.9) and passer rating (71.4), per NFL Research.
As a rookie, Williams can become the first Bear to throw for 4,000 yards and/or 30 TDs.
He can back up the promise with results. However, it will take more than just one autumn in the Windy City to prove he's the answer to the Bears' unending search for the next Sid. That journey kicks off in September.
