Do the Chicago Bears already regret taking Caleb Williams over Jayden Daniels with the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft last season?
It's not out of the realm of possibility.
Daniels brought effectiveness to the Commanders overnight and helped them reach the Conference Title game for the first time in 30 years. Williams, meanwhile, struggled with the Bears offense and stumbled to a 5-12 mark.
Despite the struggles from the first overall pick, and the success of the second, not everyone believes that the Bears should be rethinking how they operated on draft night over a year ago.
The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner won't go so far as to say that at least.
“It’d be almost impossible to say the Bears regret drafting Williams No. 1, as the rookie had a very productive first season and was playing better at the end of the year than the beginning. It’s literally impossible, though, to say another rookie QB outperformed Daniels … Daniels had one of the most poised and productive rookie seasons in NFL history,” Baumgardner said.
There are certainly justifiable rumors that would have Chicago privately wishing it would've gone the other way. But ...
At the end of the day, careers are not decided after their first year. Many quarterbacks have dominated their journeys early only to see struggles later on and not be able to handle them.
It could happen to Daniels. It may not. We have no idea of knowing.
The opposite is true for Williams. While the Bears came off poorly last season, there isn't reason to suspect one year shows that the former USC star is going to be a bust in his career.
It's too early for any of that. Even amid potential regret coming out of Chicago.
