The 2024 NFL Draft is still months away, but potential No. 1 pick Caleb Williams is already stirring the pot with speculation regarding his most recent Instagram post.
There's already been plenty of speculation surrounding what the Chicago Bears might do with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. They received the pick as part of a trade last year as the Panthers acquired the Bears' own first overall pick, but now the shoe is on the other foot, and Chicago has a choice to make.
For many teams, it would be a no-brainer to select Caleb Williams, who has generational potential. However, the Bears saw some great progress from Justin Fields and the offense over the second half of the season, and after replacing the dead weight of Luke Getsy with a new play-caller in Shane Waldron, the ceiling could be high.
Williams is making things even more complicated by making it relatively clear that he would be more enthusiastic to be elsewhere, with an interesting Instagram post after Kliff Kingsbury was hired to be the new Washington Commanders offensive coordinator.
Caleb Williams reposted Kliff Kingsbury to the Commanders on IG ? pic.twitter.com/7GrNmZV1rP
— Justin Fields Fan Club (@JustinFieldsFC) February 5, 2024
Kingsbury worked with Williams at USC this season, and many expected the Bears to hire him if they were locked in on selecting the Heisman winner. Williams also played his high school ball in Washington D.C., so it would be pretty understandable if he was excited to play near home with a familiar face calling the plays.
Paired with previous rumblings that Williams has no desire to be a Bear, as well as enthusiastic endorsement of Fields by many Bears players, it's getting tougher and tougher for Chicago to justify investing their top pick in Williams. The Commanders are currently picking second, so they could realistically put together a package to hop up one pick and compensate Chicago fairly.
However, if the Bears trade the pick only for Williams to live up to his potential and Fields to continue to be streaky in a bad way, it could easily cost general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus their jobs. This is a tremendous decision to make with no easy answer; it will be fascinating to see how it all shakes out in the Windy City.
