Caleb Williams tells ESPN he'd 'be excited' if drafted No. 1 by the Chicago Bears
In an exclusive interview with ESPN’s Pete Thamel, former USC quarterback Caleb Williams broke his silence on multiple reports and rumors of him looking to avoid being selected No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bears in the upcoming NFL Draft.
With the NFL Combine taking place this week, Williams will have his first opportunity to sit down for a lengthy interview with the Bears and a number of other teams. Before that, he spoke to Thamel about the entire draft process.
“A lot stood out, but I think you need to lead with Caleb Williams and the Bears,” Thamel said of his interview on SportsCenter. “It’s been the biggest story hovering over this draft since the draft order was set, and Caleb Williams made two things clear to me. He said, one, he’d be excited if he went to the Bears. Now, he [also] said that he’d be excited if the Bears traded him and he went anywhere else, but he said he was open to Chicago. He was excited for his first date with the Bears, as they’ll be one of the teams that he meets with here. He talked about loving Michael Jordan, even deep-dish pizza. He’s studied Walter Payton on YouTube. So, there was an openness from Caleb Williams.”
While the thought about not watching to play for Chicago has been mentioned for months, it never came directly from Williams.
“I’m not pushing any agenda,” Williams told Thamel. “At the end of the day, the Bears have the last say. Regardless of how I feel, I’m not pushing an agenda of, ‘Yeah, I want to go. Or no, I don’t want to go.’ I’m excited for whatever comes.”
Ultimately, if it’s Chicago or any other team, Williams will be elated with the official start to his NFL career.
“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” Williams said to Thamel. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited. Speaking about Chicago, they have a talented team, a talented offense and defense. For anyone to be in that situation, I think they’d be excited.”
It’s intriguing regarding Williams at the top of the draft because he’s a D.C. native and the Washington Commanders hold the No. 2 selection. There would obviously be a local push to bring Williams home and reunite him with newly hired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who spent last season at USC working with Williams.
Another interesting part of Williams’ progression to the NFL is that he’s going to do so without hiring an NFL agent. Williams has always credited his “team” of advisors and attorneys who handle many of his NIL deals while in college. They’ll be the ones taking care of contracts and endorsements moving forward as well.
“Everyone thinks I’m a one-man team,” Williams said to Thamel. “That’s just not the case.”
Thamel reported that Williams has been working out in Florida with quarterback coach Will Hewlett and performance coach Tom Gormely of late, as well as quarterbacks Mason Rudolph, Emory Jones and Nate Peterman.
He’ll only participate in interviews with teams this week at the combine. He is planning to throw at USC’s Pro Day on March 20 and will do medical testing during his individual visits to NFL teams.
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