Boomer Esiason: Bears GM Ryan Poles should be fired if team doesn't draft Caleb Williams
The Chicago Bears need to make a decision at the top of the NFL Draft. There are several options, but the two most likely are that the Bears will draft Caleb Williams to replace Justin Fields at quarterback, or they will stick with Fields and trade the pick to someone else who will use it on Williams.
One person who thinks that the choice for Chicago is clear is former NFL quarterback turned analyst, Boomer Esiason. In fact, Esiason says that if the team doesn’t draft Caleb Williams, then Bears GM Ryan Poles should be fired.
“Doesn’t matter…it’s over. It’s over,” Esiason said. “They’re taking this kid right here and if they don’t take this kid then Ryan Poles should be fired.”
There are a few reasons why Boomer Esiason is so sure Chicago should draft Caleb Williams. Obviously, there’s his raw talent. However, beyond that, it would also restart the proverbial quarterback clock, or the time a quarterback is on a rookie contract. After that, he also doesn’t think the Bears need additional picks at this point.
“You’ve got to restart the quarterback clock. You’ve got all the assets from the trades that you’ve made. You’re sitting pretty. You kept your head coach. You’ve got a new offensive coordinator in there. You can say they should’ve hired Kliff Kingsbury, but he ended up going to Washington. Caleb Williams is from Washington D.C.”
That last note prompted Boomer Esiason’s co-host Gregg Giannotti to ask if something was up with the Washington Commanders, who have the second pick and need a quarterback. He even wondered if Williams could, like Eli Manning, refuse to play for the top team if that’s who drafts him.
“Caleb, don’t go home. Go to Chicago. They’re going to be loaded and they’re going to be good and they have all these different assets. You’re gonna have a good defense. They’ve added a number of offensive playmakers over the last two years,” Esiason said.
“DJ Moore, I know, did come out and support Justin Fields. He goes, ‘There’s nobody in the quarterback class like Justin Fields,’ well, wait until you start playing with Caleb Williams. You’ll find somebody that is.”
Daniel Jeremiah details similarities between Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes
Caleb Williams has received a lot of complimentary comparisons, including to Patrick Mahomes. The similarities are something that analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently broke down.
“Mahomes’ situation at Texas Tech was, I thought, very similar to Caleb’s situation at USC. Pat’s last year at Texas Tech, they were 128th in scoring defense. [In 2023] USC was 121st. [Williams] was constantly chasing points. I thought that led to some of the habits that crept in a little bit. He lost eight games at USC. They gave up an average of 43 points in those games. He was 12-0 when they managed to allow less than 34 points. It’s tough to play quarterback when you’re chasing points like that constantly,” Jeremiah said.
“You don’t want to compare somebody to the best player on the planet. But just in terms of how [Williams] kind of plays, with the creativity and a little flair and all the different throws he can make in terms of driving the ball, layering the ball, extending plays. All those things, there are similarities there.”