There are high expectations surrounding the Chicago Bears in 2024, which has a lot to do with highly-touted rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, selected with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr shared his 100 bold predictions for the 2024 NFL season, and he had a couple for Williams that would indicate a successful rookie seaosn.
The first bold prediction bodes well for Williams leading Chicago’s offense to success — throwing 26 touchdowns, the same as Peyton Manning during his rookie year in 1998. That would be a far cry from the current record holder for touchdowns by a Bears rookie quarterback — Charlie O’Rourke threw 11 touchdowns in 1942.
8. Caleb Williams will throw for the same number of touchdown passes as another rookie who wore No. 18 …
Peyton Manning threw 26 during his rookie season in 1998 (along with, many forget, 28 interceptions). Should Williams throw 28 picks, I would imagine the entirety of the Chicago Bears’ building would be cleaned out. How times have changed. Anyway, Williams has a great weapon set at his disposal and an offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron who really came into his own after the departure of Russell Wilson from Seattle.
Orr’s second bold prediction features a very successful rookie season for Williams, who has a solid completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio and nearing the 4,000-yard mark. Orr also predicts that Williams will finish a very close second to Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
43. Caleb Williams will put up the following numbers during his rookie season:
A 65% completion rate, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 3,727 yards. Williams will finish a very close second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting and win at least seven games. The hallmark of his rookie season will be a few critical throws he makes under duress, taking hard hits as he releases the ball and dispelling some of the predraft narratives on the No. 1 pick.
Williams has been set up for immediate success as a rookie. The Bears have surrounded him with an arsenal of weapons, including receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, along with a potential top-10 defense and an improved offensive line.
While it’s fair to expect growing pains along the way, there’s no reason not to believe Williams could find success early on during his rookie season.
