Bears select Caleb Williams with No. 1 overall selection
It’s official: Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
Football’s worst-kept secret became public a few minutes after 7 p.m. CDT Thursday when the Bears, from their draft room at team headquarters in Lake Forest, sent an electronic message to Hart Plaza 326 miles away. Once that alert was received and the decision transcribed onto a card that was handed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Williams’ longawaited moment arrived.
The goal he set at age 10 of becoming the top pick in the draft was realized. And Bears fans’ recurring dream of finding a franchise quarterback to unlock a long run of championship contention was reawakened.
In a draft loaded with firstround talent that created plenty of intrigue for Thursday’s 32-pick roll call, Williams distinguished himself as the top dog in a highly regarded quarterback class, creating one of the least suspenseful and most anticipated moments in recent draft memory.
In terms of skill set, the consensus among NFL talent evaluators is that Williams offers the total package. He is lauded most for his off-script playmaking gifts. He’s able to turn trash into treasure with his agility outside the pocket, feel for the game and rare arm talent that allows him to alter the velocity and arc on his throws to find the big play.
“Pure magic,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said.
Added Joel Klatt, a college football analyst for Fox Sports and a draft contributor to NFL
Network: “Every quarterback has to have a superpower, at least to reach this point of being considered for the No. 1 pick. Caleb’s superpower, his best trait, is to not just be effective but to really hurt a defense when he’s creating. It’s not when he’s running but when he’s creating. His ability to throw with accuracy, power, leverage, touch, drive the ball — all on the run and off platform — is special.”
It would be a mistake, though, to classify Williams as a one-trick pony. Klatt studies quarterbacks across five key categories when projecting their NFL potential: arm talent, schematic intelligence, pocket passing production, on-themove playmaking creativity and running ability.
“I have been evaluating quarterbacks for the draft for a little more than 10 years, and Caleb’s the only quarterback I have evaluated who is elite in all five of those categories,” Klatt said. “And that’s why for two years we’ve been talking about him as the No. 1 quarterback prospect.”
The Bears fell in love with Williams as a player through their scouting process over the last two seasons. In 2022 the USC quarterback threw for 4,537 yards, accounted for 52 total touchdowns, won the Heisman Trophy and revived the Trojans program during his first season on campus after transferring from Oklahoma.
His 2023 season wasn’t nearly as sparkling, as USC sputtered to a 7-5 regular season and Williams didn’t even crack the top 10 in Heisman voting. But he still threw for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns with
five interceptions while propelling a Trojans offense that finished third in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring (41.8 points per game), fifth in passing (333 yards per game) and 10th in total offense (467.6 yards per game).
When the predraft vetting process reached the next level this winter and spring, Bears general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron set out to learn much more about Williams as a person.
What makes him tick? What knocks him off course? How passionate about football is he? How does he lead?
As Poles and Eberflus heard more about
Williams from his teammates at both USC and Oklahoma, they were struck by how respected and admired he was.
“When you talk to his teammates, they don’t like him, they love him,” Poles said. “It’s his leadership, how he brings people together. He’s intentional with his leadership.”
Leading up to draft night, the Bears talked internally about Williams’ natural calm and selfassurance and noted how, during a monthslong predraft process in which rumor, speculation and judgment about his personality swirled through social media and sports debate shows, Williams seemed totally unruffled and comfortable navigating that space.
“He’s been public enemy No. 1 with all this criticism that has been coming his way,” Jeremiah said. “And he has just stayed focused and gone about his business.”
Williams appears to have the experience and skill to deal with what now awaits him in Chicago. The pressure. The expectations. The loud criticism. The microanalysis of his every move on and off the field.
Williams believes he has found the secret to surfing through that world with optimal serenity.
“I feel comfy in my own skin,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. I feel comfy in my own skin, in who I am, how hard I work, what I do in my daily life, how I act and how I treat people with respect.”
There are no guarantees Williams will soon end the most maddening of Bears droughts. Thirteen seasons since their last playoff victory. Thirtysix years since they last enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons. Forever — literally — since they had a 4,000-yard passer or a 30-touchdown-pass season.
Williams now has a chance — and the responsibility really — to change all of that and put the Bears on a new track. That journey began Thursday night.
Patriots select quarterback Drake Maye
The pick is in, and the Patriots have chosen UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
After months of speculation that the Patriots could trade down from No. 3 overall, de facto general manager
Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s top decisionmakers stood pat to select a quarterback with the hope that he’ll be the future of the franchise.
Maye, 21, has prototypical size (6-foot4, 221 pounds) and arm strength for the position. He also comes with plusathleticism and was adept at tucking the ball and running to pick up first downs in critical situations. He was a two-year starter and a captain with the Tar Heels. His best season as a passer came in 2022, when he completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also added 153 carries for 899 yards with seven touchdowns rushing.
In 2023, when Maye’s supporting cast wasn’t as strong, he completed 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He carried the ball 92 times for
582 yards with nine touchdowns.
Maye has a tendency to make some reckless throws, and he could benefit from sitting at the start of his career. One scout at the combine described him as a developmental prospect.
Another scout told the Boston Herald that “there’s a lot to work with” in Maye, who has “a lot of natural talent to tap into.” He’s “big, strong and mobile” has a “powerful arm” and “natural feel in the pocket.” As far as negatives go, Maye’s “mechanics aren’t good,” he “needs refinement” and his “accuracy is hit or miss.”
Maye impressed Patriots coaches and front-office executives with his poise during an official interview at the NFL scouting combine. Maye also visited Gillette Stadium during the pre-draft process and met with team personnel at his pro day.
Mayo spoke of Maye’s upside last month at the NFL annual meeting.
“Drake Maye had a fantastic interview at the combine. He brings a lot of energy,” Mayo said.
“You can tell he has that leadership ability. And also the exciting part about a guy like Drake Maye is the ceiling. Like, there is really no ceiling with a guy like that. Now, in saying that when we’re trying to put together this roster, I know a lot of people look at the ceiling, but you also got to kind of see how low is the floor. How low is the floor? And I would say that a guy like Drake Maye, he has a lot of room to grow. He’s a young guy. Honestly, he hasn’t played football nearly as much as these other guys. So that’s definitely something that we’ve looked at, but he definitely is going to develop.”
The Patriots signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett this offseason with the idea that he could serve as a bridge starter.
“We signed Jacoby because he’s a good player,” Wolf said last week. “He’s big, strong, a relentless preparer in terms of his ability to take a game plan and apply it through the week to Sunday. He’s got a big arm . ... We feel like if we end up drafting a quarterback high, he is someone who can support that player and would be a positive influence on them while competing with them.”
Maye joins Brissett,
Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke on the Patriots’ quarterback depth chart. The team traded former starter Mac Jones, a
2021 first-round pick, to the Jaguars earlier this offseason. Jones was supposed to be the team’s future franchise quarterback after an impressive rookie season. He got progressively worse over his final two seasons in New England, bottoming out and getting benched for Zappe late in the 2023 season.
Team owner Robert
Kraft said at the NFL annual meeting that Wolf ’s position as de facto general manager will be evaluated after the draft. Kraft said in the same meeting with the media that he hoped to come out of the draft with a “a top-rate young quarterback.”
Drafting Maye with the third pick should please Kraft.
Chargers pick stud lineman Joe Alt
The Chargers opened the 2024 NFL draft by addressing their offensive line, taking Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt with the fifth pick of the first round.
— Notable: His father, John, was an offensive lineman at Iowa and a first-round pick of Kansas City in 1984 before earning two Pro Bowl selections. Alt’s brother, Mark, played hockey at Minnesota and in the NHL, including a brief stint with the Kings in 2020-21.
— Last season: Alt was a finalist for the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award while starting 12 games at left tackle. He also was a first-team Allamerican.
— Why the Chargers drafted him: Since the day was he hired, coach Jim Harbaugh has preached his desire to turn the Chargers into a more physical, lineof-scrimmage team, which means beefing up the offensive front. Alt gives the Chargers an enormous presence up front in the run game and in protecting quarterback Justin Herbert. He played on the left side for the Fighting Irish but is expected to move to the right and replace Trey Pipkins III, who struggled with consistency last season. The Chargers have Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater at left tackle.
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. selected by Falcons
Michael Penix Jr.’s wait is complete. The 2023 Maxwell Award winner and former Washington quarterback finally knows where he’s going to begin his NFL career.
The 2023 Heisman runner-up, Penix went to Atlanta Falcons with the eighth pick of the first round, becoming the fourth quarterback off the board in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday. He’s the second quarterback in Washington history drafted in the first round, joining Jake Locker, the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Penix was the first Washington player selected in the first round. Wide receiver Rome Udunze went to the Chicago Bears with the ninth pick.
“I’m just ready to see where I’m going so I can help a team win football games,” Penix said March 28.
Penix spent two years at Washington rewriting the program’s record books. He set the single-season passing record in 2022 after arriving from Indiana, then broke it again by throwing for 4,903 yards in 2023. He had a 25-3 record while wearing the purple and gold, and led the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards during both his seasons on Montlake.
The left-handed signal caller from Tampa,
Fla., owns almost all of Washington’s junior and senior passing records. His 9,544 passing yards rank third all-time in program history, behind only Jake Browning and Cody Pickett. Penix played in 28 games for the Huskies — 25 fewer than Browning and 12 fewer than Pickett.
Penix led Washington to their first Alamo Bowl victory in 2022, beating Texas, 27-20. A year later, he guided the Huskies to their first College Football Playoff win, beating the Longhorns again, this time in the Sugar Bowl, 37-31. Penix threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns while adding 31 yards rushing to lead Washington to its first CFP championship game.
He was undefeated in three games against archrivals Oregon, including a 34-31 win against the Ducks during the final Pac-12 championship game.
“It did fly by,” Penix said March 28. “Coming here, I didn’t know what to expect. I just expected to find a way to win football games and get back to having fun, and I was able to do that. I was super blessed about that. That’s what’s been keeping me going, having people that supported me through the whole journey, through the whole process no matter what.”
Despite the accolades, championships and program records,
Penix’s stock fluctuated throughout the pre-draft process. His medical history, in particular, worried draft analysts.
The 6-foot-2, 217-pound quarterback suffered four season-ending injuries during his four years at Indiana. He tore his right ACL during his freshman and redshirt freshman seasons. A fractured right clavicle ended his sophomore season, before he separated his right AC joint as a junior in 2021. He transferred to Washington the next season and didn’t miss a game during his two-year tenure with the Huskies.
Following Washington’s 34-13 loss to Michigan in the CFP championship game, Penix participated in the Senior Bowl where he was named a starter before opting to sit out of the actual game.
At the NFL combine, Penix was one of the only top quarterbacks who went through the throwing drills, along with Michigan’s J.J. Mccarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix. Penix also threw at Washington’s pro day on March 28, and ran the 40-yard dash, registering an unofficial time around 4.5 seconds. He also had a 36.5-inch vertical jump and a broad jump reaching 10 feet, 5 inches.
“I just wanted to show I’m athletic, and I can do it with my legs if I have to,” Penix said at pro day.
Michigan quarterback J.J. Mccarthy goes to Vikings at No. 10
Former Michigan quarterback J.J. Mccarthy, so often described by analysts the last few months as the most polarizing at his position in this year’s NFL draft, finally knows his NFL destination.
Mccarthy, who helped lead Michigan to the 2023 national championship and was 27-1 as a two-year starter, was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 10 overall pick in the three-day draft that began Thursday night in Detroit. The Vikings made a trade with the New York Jets to move up a spot and grab Mccarthy.
For the sixth straight year, Michigan has produced at least one first-round selection. The program had a record 18 players invited to the NFL scouting combine and is looking to break Georgia’s record of 15 players drafted in 2022.
Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, now head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, described Mccarthy before last season as a “once-ina-generational” type of quarterback and compared him to NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in terms of talent and the willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team. Last October, Harbaugh said Mccarthy was on the path to being the best quarterback in Michigan history and would be the quarterback “all future quarterbacks are compared to.”
During the 2023 season, Mccarthy completed
72.3% of his passes, which ranked sixth nationally. He threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with four interceptions. He ranked ninth nationally in pass efficiency. He was named the Big Ten’s Quarterback of the Year and the most valuable offensive player of the Rose Bowl national semifinal.