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NFL analyst boldly predicts Caleb Williams sets Bears record

Originally posted on NFL Analysis Network
By Matthew Schmidt | Last updated 5/17/24

There is a whole lot of excitement surrounding Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears heading into 2024, and with good reason.

Williams was the No. 1 overall pick and is considered a generational talent by some. The Bears loaded up on weapons this offseason, making big moves through free agency, trades and the NFL Draft.

Chicago has also hardly experienced any success for the better part of the last two decades, so the fans in the Windy City are ready for a turnaround.

Fox Sports analyst Craig Carton is expecting big things from the Bears in 2024 and thinks that Williams will have a record-setting rookie campaign.

When predicting what Williams’ numbers will be next season, Carton projected that the USC product will throw for at least 4,000 yards, which is something that no other Bears quarterback has ever done.

"4,000 yards is on the table."@craigcartonlive thinks Caleb Williams can have a CJ Stroud-type rookie season: pic.twitter.com/xT1DppPs1B
— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) May 17, 2024

Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress made a good point in regards to Carton’s prediction, saying there is a reason why no Chicago signal-caller has ever crested 4,000 yards.

After October, the weather becomes brutal in Chi-Town, making it much more difficult for quarterbacks to rack up significant numbers.

Currently, Erik Kramer holds the record for most passing yards by a Bears player in a single season, totaling 3,858 yards back in 1995. Jay Cutler came close in 2014, throwing for 3,812 yards.

What will make things even more difficult for Williams is that he was playing his collegiate football in southern California, where the weather is warm all year round.

Going from the palm trees of Los Angeles to the frozen tundra of Soldier Field will certainly be a stark change for the 21-year-old, and it remains to be seen how he handles it.

In today’s pass-happy era, it is definitely easier for quarterbacks to hit the 4,000-yard mark, so the fact that it is still something that has not been achieved in Chicago is startling.

Of course, that could also have something to do with the fact that the Bears have done a poor job selecting signal-callers. But then again, Chicago is literally called “the Windy City” for a reason.

Caleb Williams is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 68.6 percent of his passes. He also punched in 11 rushing scores.

This article first appeared on NFL Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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