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J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
A July 21 report from The Athletic’s Alec Lewis stirred up speculation that the Chicago Bears came close to drafting J.J. McCarthy over Caleb Williams—but that’s not necessary the case.
According to Lewis’s report, McCarthy’s private quarterbacks coach Greg Holcomb recalled a conversation with Bears general manager Ryan Poles at a youth QB camp where Poles said: “I don’t think people realize how close we were to possibly taking” McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft. Poles added that the Bears “loved J.J.”
That comment, casually shared months after the draft, suggests that McCarthy wasn’t just a distant backup plan—he was seriously in play as the potential No. 1 overall pick.
Poles and company may have given McCarthy high marks, but Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron is pushing back on the narrative that the Bears would’ve drafted McCarthy over Williams.
Some Background on Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears & the J.J. McCarthy Draft Rumor
GettyHow much truth is there to the rumor that the Chicago Bears considered drafting Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy?
First, some context. In March 2023, Poles traded the No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft to the Carolina Panthers. In exchange, the Bears received WR DJ Moore, the 9th and 61st picks in 2023, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-rounder.
Because Carolina finished the 2023 season with the league’s worst record, that 2024 first‑round pick became the No. 1 overall selection. Poles used that top spot in April 2024 to select Williams.
“Once the Panthers were locked into the top spot with a couple of weeks to go in the season, the question wasn’t which quarterback they would take; it was ‘Will we take Caleb Williams?'” Zimmerman wrote on July 22, before breaking the Bears’ decision further:
They also needed to research the other QBs. They needed to know that if they decided that Caleb Williams wasn’t a fit for the Chicago Bears, what direction they would pivot. Ultimately, the Bears had JJ McCarthy as their QB2. Would the Bears have drafted him first overall? No. Had the Caleb Williams plan gone south, the Bears would have traded down with a team that wanted to come up for Williams, and the Bears would have drafted JJ McCarthy, who would have become their QB1 after they examined his on-field performance, as well as his off-field intangibles.
Chicago Bears & Minnesota Vikings Square Off Week 1
Zimmerman also noted that the Bears had thoroughly vetted Williams with visits, interviews and character evaluations by late March 2024, and by then, their internal alignment on taking him was firm. McCarthy may have been QB2, but he wasn’t ever considered a 1A option.
“When Poles tells Holcomb that people don’t realize how close they were to taking him, he was simply referring to the idea that they thought McCarthy was QB2 in this draft. But there was never a debate between Williams and McCarthy at Halas Hall,” Zimmerman added.
It won’t be long until both QBs face off in prime time.
The Bears and Vikings are set to open the regular season against each other on “Monday Night Football,” with Williams leading Chicago and McCarthy now entrenched as the starter in Minnesota. Their impending showdown adds extra intrigue to Poles’ comment—because if McCarthy outperforms Williams, the “what if” narrative will explode among fans and pundits.
