Before he was leading the way for the Chicago Bears, and before even winning the Heisman Trophy with the USC Trojans, Caleb Williams was turning heads as an Oklahoma Sooner.
Williams’ tenure in Norman often gets overlooked when discussing his journey to the NFL, but fellow former Sooner Gerald McCoy remembers that lone season fondly, and offered strong thoughts on the rising NFL star.
It is the latest encouraging take on the Bears’ third-year QB.
Bears’ Caleb Williams Draws Strong Take Before Training Camp
Bears Get Encouraging Message About Caleb Williams
McCoy spoke candidly about Williams’ tenure with the Sooners, saying he would select the Bears’ quarterback if he were starting an NFL team.
“I don’t even have to think about it. There are some things missing with Baker [Mayfield] athletically. Kyler [Murray] is a little smaller. Jalen [Hurts] really doesn’t throw the ball that well, though he knows how to win. Caleb isn’t missing anything. If I’m picking one guy to put in any system with any coach, I’m taking Caleb,” McCoy told RotoGrinders’ Kyle Odegard in an interview published on June 24.
“Caleb is immensely talented. He’s almost overly-talented, what he can do throwing a football and what he can do with his legs. As soon as he gets to the point where he can relax and learn how to simplify the game, Caleb Williams will be the best quarterback in the NFL. Yes, I just said it. He’s that talented.”
Notably, Williams will encounter Murray’s Minnesota Vikings (Weeks 2 and 18), Hurts’ Philadelphia Eagles (Week 3), and Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 9) during the 2026 season, giving him and the Bears multiple opportunities to prove McCoy correct.
McCoy also cited Bears head coach Ben Johnson being a “big part” of Williams’ success.
He called it a “perfect pairing,” noting that both have room to grow, which he believes will happen, and comparing to it Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gerald McCoy Echoes Bears Coaches
McCoy’s comments stand out on their own, but they tie heavily into what the Bears have said about Williams this offseason.
Johnson and Williams have frequently talked about the QB’s polarizing completion percentage from last season–among the worst for qualifiers–in the sense of taking the easy completions more often being a focus.
Bears quarterback coach J.T. Barrett outright said they want Williams to “do less” more often.
That is not to say the Bears want to handcuff Williams, whose playmaking ability has long been lauded as his most impressive trait. Instead, what McCoy, Johnson, Barrett, and Williams himself have all said is a version of the same thing that has been said for years.
Williams’ highlight-reel moments are undeniable, but he could ascend to another level entirely if he could also play on schedule when the situation calls for it more consistently.
The true test will not come until Week 1 of the regular season against the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina, of course, originally owned the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft that the Bears used to select Williams, exchanging it along with wide receiver DJ Moore and a host of other assets in a trade that yielded the 2023 top overall pick used to take Bryce Young.
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