The Chicago Bears selected Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Thursday in Detroit. He was followed by the Washington Commanders’ selection of LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and the New England Patriots’ choice of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
Six quarterbacks — Williams, Daniels, Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix — were taken in the first 12 picks. In total, 23 offensive players heard their names called, the most in NFL draft history.
Williams, the consensus top prospect, threw for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. He won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football the previous season after he took the Trojans from a four-win team to an 11-win team. Williams threw for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions over 13 games in 2022.
The Bears were able to select Williams thanks to a major trade ahead of the 2023 draft. Chicago — which owned the No. 1 pick at the time — sent it to the Carolina Panthers in return for receiver DJ Moore, 2023 first- and second-round picks, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick. That 2024 first-round pick would later become the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.
Williams joins a retooled Chicago team that traded for six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen and signed running back D’Andre Swift this offseason. The Bears also have rising stars in Moore and tight end Cole Kmet.
The Commanders selected LSU star Daniels at No. 2. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after one of the most electrifying seasons in college football history. He threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and only four interceptions while adding 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
With the No. 9 pick, the Bears added another pass-catcher for Williams, selecting Washington receiver Rome Odunze, who joins an already loaded wide receiver corps featuring DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. The four worked out together last week in Los Angeles.
Odunze led the FBS with 1,640 receiving yards last season and had 92 catches and 13 touchdown receptions.
Selecting Williams first overall was set in motion earlier this offseason when the Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2025 conditional sixth-round pick. Fields, who was drafted 11th overall by Chicago in 2021, started 38 games over three seasons and helped the Bears to a 7-10 record last season, the team’s best finish since 2020.
Williams is the first quarterback drafted by general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, who were hired by the Bears in 2022.
