NFL coaches may not be ready to fully buy in on Caleb Williams, but the résumé is starting to speak loud enough for everyone else.
Williams just finished a season in which he threw for more yards than any quarterback in Chicago Bears history, helped the Bears win the NFC North, and beat the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. Even with that on the table, some coaches still slotted him in Tier 3 in Mike Sando’s annual quarterback rankings for The Athletic.
The full vote told a more revealing story. Out of 50 league executives and coaches, 36 placed Williams in Tier 2 and 14 kept him in Tier 3. All eight current general managers in the survey put him in Tier 2, while coaches were responsible for 11 of those 14 Tier 3 votes.
That gap matters. It suggests the people building rosters see Williams one way, while the people game-planning against him still have reservations.
There is no denying the flaws. Williams finished with a 58.1% completion rate, and that number is impossible to gloss over. He missed easy throws, and at times looked more comfortable trying something spectacular than taking the simple completion right in front of him.
But the bigger picture is harder to dismiss. He threw 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions and delivered six fourth-quarter comebacks. Chicago was not winning despite him; more than once, the Bears were winning because he kept the game alive when it seemed ready to slip away.
The playoffs only sharpened that point. Against Green Bay in the wild-card round, Williams threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns while leading another comeback. That victory gave Chicago its first postseason win since the 2010 season.
So yes, there are real issues in his game. The missed layups, the inconsistent footwork, the drives that lose their rhythm - those are fair critiques. What does not make much sense is keeping him in the same bucket as quarterbacks who have to be hidden by their own coaches.
Williams can settle this himself, though. General managers can project what he might become.
Coaches are reacting to the version of him they have to face right now. If he becomes more reliable on the routine throws, the argument gets a lot shorter.
And there are already signs of progress in camp. Williams opened Thursday’s practice with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze. Later, he went six for six on the final drive and capped it with a touchdown to Luther Burden.
Of course, it is August, and training camp has turned plenty of quarterbacks into temporary legends. Still, Williams has more than practice buzz behind him now. He has a division title, a playoff win, and the best passing season in Bears history.
Tier 1 can wait. Tier 3 looks a lot like a few coaches still not wanting to admit they were wrong.
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