Bears' Caleb Williams first rookie to accomplish historic feat in NFL history

The season may not have gone according to plan for Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but the individual stats have been there for him, even with many games feeling as if he wasn't even producing at all.

A quick temperature check of the Bears will prove one thing, no one on the team is focused on their individual stats, they want to win more games than they have this year, especially while on a current 10-game losing streak.

In the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams was the first of an NFL record six quarterbacks to be taken in the first round, and given his placement as the No. 1 overall pick, all eyes, and criticism, were going to be put on him. The Bears made several questionable decisions after picking Williams, from keeping Matt Eberflus as head coach, hiring Shane Waldron at offensive coordinator, and bringing in weapons at the skill positions, but failing to upgrade an offensive line that was in dire need of help.

The other five quarterbacks taken besides Caleb Williams were: Jayden Daniels (#2 overall, Washington Commanders), Drake Maye (#3 overall, New England Patriots), Michael Penix Jr (#8 overall, Atlanta Falcons), J.J. McCarthy. (#10 overall, Minnesota Vikings), and Bo Nix (#12 overall, Denver Broncos) with all but McCarthy, who is out for the year due to surgery, getting play time for their respective teams. While the Commanders, Falcons, Vikings, and Broncos all fight for playoff contention, Minnesota doing so without McCarthy, Williams and the Bears are near the bottom of the pack.

Only Maye and the New England Patriots, who are currently in line for the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, have done worse than Chicago this season. Even with his team lacking success in the wins category, Williams has put up a rookie season that has never been done before in the history of the NFL.

Williams, Daniels, and Nix were the only three of the six first-round quarterbacks who began the season as the starter for their team. Washington and Denver are fighting for positioning in the playoffs with their rookie quarterbacks, but Williams, even in a lost season for Chicago, has shown flashes of what the franchise hopes to be their long-term answer at a franchise quarterback. His rookie season has been memorable for both positive and negative reasons, but Williams has shown on paper that he's capable of putting up numbers, even if the team is not winning the way they had hoped.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Caleb Williams first rookie to accomplish historic feat in NFL history