Caleb Williams is back, and the Bears quarterback has wasted no time looking like the real thing.
After a hamstring tear against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 20 - an injury that still isn’t fully understood - the third-year quarterback had to sit and watch while Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum kept Chicago’s run going with wins over the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Green Bay Packers. Since returning, Williams has answered with two huge performances.
Last Sunday, he lit up the Atlanta Falcons in a 31-23 win, hitting 30 of 36 throws for 305 yards and a touchdown. Then on Thursday Night Football against the New England Patriots, he was just as sharp, going 22-for-33 for 308 yards and two touchdown passes.
Whatever concerns existed about his health, they’ve faded fast. And any doubts about him matching the level of his outstanding sophomore season are getting louder in the rearview.
That surge has pushed a bigger conversation to the forefront: how good is Williams already?
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky didn’t hold back on Friday’s Get Up.
“Flawless,” Orlovsky said of the performance. “You can not find better quarterback tape.”
He went further from there: "When I tell you it was young Aaron Rodgers,” he continued. “Decision-making in structure and out of structure.
The movement in the pocket. The playmaking, playing on time when it’s mandatory, when it’s needed.
The anticipation of throw with ball placement of throw.”
That’s the kind of comp that gets attention for a reason. Orlovsky wasn’t reaching for a lazy comparison; he was pointing to the traits that jump off the screen - pocket movement, timing, off-script creativity, and the feel for where the ball needs to go.
The numbers invite the discussion, too.
Rodgers’ path was different from Williams’. He learned behind Brett Favre and didn’t take over as Green Bay’s starter until his age-25 season.
Williams was thrown into the fire at 23. Both endured a losing first season as the guy before breaking through with 11 wins in their second year in the role.
Through 38 starts, Rodgers had gone 20-18 with a 63.8% completion rate, 8,329 passing yards, 7.7 yards per attempt, 57 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and a 96.6 passer rating.
Williams, over the same number of starts, is 19-19 with a 61.3% completion rate, 8,503 passing yards, 6.8 yards per attempt, 52 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 90.5 passer rating.
The biggest separator is what Williams adds on the ground. Rodgers had 599 rushing yards at this point.
Williams has already gone past 1,000. Rodgers was the cleaner, more efficient passer at this stage, even if he was more prone to turnovers.
For Bears fans, the comparison may sting a little given Rodgers’ place in the division’s history. But there are worse players to be mentioned alongside. And with Williams moving at a faster clip, the excitement around his future is only growing - especially with Ben Johnson in the picture.
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