Caleb Williams’ work ethic is obvious ahead of the 2024 NFL season

The transition from college football to NFL football is notoriously difficult for young quarterbacks. Defenders are bigger, faster, and smarter. Passing windows get smaller, the pocket collapses quicker, and coverages are often disguised. If a young quarterback wants to succeed in the NFL, the very first step is to learn the subtleties of his new offense. Knowing the playbook backward and forwards is one less thing on their minds when the football is snapped.

According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is already far along this path. Some may think this is a low bar to clear. To be fair, it is. Any rookie in the NFL should be mature enough to realize how much work they’ll have to do to succeed. But it’s still important because some players think their natural talent alone will make up for not studying enough.

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Many Bears fans and analysts feared this would be a problem with Williams. Before the draft, the rumor mills worked overtime regarding the eventual first overall pick. Stories flew across social media that Williams was a “diva”, that he was selfish, and that he was more concerned with his image than being a good football player. Some fans went so far as to call him the next Johnny Manziel.

Even before the draft, these stories seemed ridiculous upon closer inspection. But it is a relief to have proof that they were utterly false. There are no character concerns with Williams and, as Cronin has reported, he is obsessed with improving his craft and will text his coaches at all hours of the night if he has a question about a certain play and why they run it that way. He will also train with some veteran NFL quarterbacks, including San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, before training camp starts.

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In the long run, all of this means relatively little. Justin Fields was the same way. He had a strong work ethic and studied the playbook relentlessly. Once, during his rookie season, he even passed on a dinner with his parents, who wanted to celebrate that he had just been named the starter for the Chicago Bears so he could study film for the next game.

Unfortunately, despite his hard work, Fields never put it all together. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. So it’s nice to see that Williams is working just as hard as his predecessor, and it is important for him to be doing this, but we will still have to see him reap the fruit of his labor once the 2024 NFL season starts before we can crown him.