Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels: Did Bears make the right call at QB with first overall pick in 2024 draft?

Quarterback Caleb Williams was seen by many as a “generational” talent coming out of USC as the 2022 NFL Heisman Trophy winner, which was why the Chicago Bears selected him first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

On Monday, Williams and the Bears (2-2) will face 2024 second overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who helped lead his team to the NFC championship game, and the Washington Commanders (3-2) for the second time in their respective careers. That’s why now is as good a time as ever to reflect on if the Bears chose the right quarterback with the first overall pick a year ago. 

Williams’ Bears lost the first head-to-head meeting, 18-15, in Week 8 last season after Daniels hit wide receiver Noah Brown on a 52-yard Hail Mary pass as the clock hit zero. That play represented the longest game-winning, Hail Mary touchdown with time expiring in regulation since the 2015 season when Aaron Rodgers hit Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers for a 62-yard touchdown at the Detroit Lions for the “Miracle in Motown.” That Week 8 loss kickstarted two very different endings to the 2024 season: a 10-game losing streak for Chicago while Washington ended up as the NFC runner up. 

Fast forward to Week 6 of this season, let’s take a look at how Williams, Daniels and 2024 third overall pick quarterback Drake Maye of the New England Patriots stack up thus far in their NFL careers. It’s worth noting Williams’ first offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired in the middle of a tumultuous 2024 season as was his first head coach Matt Eberflus. Jerod Mayo, Maye’s first head coach in New England, was fired after a 4-13 campaign in 2024. 

This season, Maye ranks top 10 in the league in completion percentage (73.2%, second in the NFL entering “Monday Night Football”), passing yards (1,522, fifth in the NFL entering “Monday Night Football” ), passing yards per attempt (8.5, fourth in the NFL entering “Monday Night Football”) and passer rating (112.5, fourth in the NFL entering “Monday Night Football”). He also helped power his Patriots to one of the signature victories of the 2025 season, upsetting the then-undefeated, 4-0 Bills and 2024 NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen in Buffalo on “Sunday Night Football” 23-20 in Week 5. Maye has certainly benefitted from the additions of four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in 2025. 

* Entering the two “Monday Night Football” games that will conclude Week 6, including Bears at Commanders

Even though Daniels missed a couple games with a hamstring injury this season, he became the fastest player ever to throw for over 4,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a career, doing so in 20 games after crossing both thresholds in a Week 5 win at the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Williams could very well make another leap or two the longer he works with new Bears head coach Ben Johnson, but early on, he’s had the least notable career of the first three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.