Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will be one of the most scrutinized quarterbacks in the NFL in 2025. The first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft was outplayed as a rookie by some of his first-round classmates, namely Jayden Daniels, who was a legitimate MVP candidate and the runaway Rookie of the Year.
Williams' second season was always going to come with heightened expectations. It's part of the deal for first-round QBs, and it's especially true when a quarterback is the first overall pick. But those expectations leveled up several tiers when Chicago hired Ben Johnson as head coach and dedicated offseason resources to rebuilding the offensive line and adding more weapons to Williams' arsenal.
In fact, those second-year expectations are so high for Caleb Williams that there are some analysts who think he'll outproduce Jayden Daniels in 2025.
"Bears QB Caleb Williams and top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was outplayed by second pick and Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels during their rookie years," Destin Adams wrote. "While the Bears and Williams struggled during his rookie year, Daniels went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year and took the Commanders to the NFC Championship. I think the addition of Ben Johnson as the Bears' head coach is going to pay off in a big way for their offense, but no one is going to benefit more than Caleb Williams.
"Johnson will put Williams in a much better position to succeed than what we saw in 2024. His TE duo of Cole Kmet and rookie Colston Loveland, paired with WRs DJ Moore and second-year WR Rome Odunze, will be a fun nucleus of weapons for Johnson to scheme up possibilities for. I think this will lead to Williams finishing with more yards and touchdowns than Daniels during their sophomore seasons, and by the end, both will be spoken of as elite young QBs in the NFL."
That last part, the one about Williams and Daniels ending the 2025 season as elite young NFL quarterbacks, would be the ultimate win for the league, especially if a rivalry between the two really begins to take shape.
Still, it's so odd to me that Williams outproducing Daniels qualifies as a hot take. The two had nearly identical seasons in 2024. Daniels threw for 3,568 yards. Williams threw for 3,541. Daniels tossed 25 touchdowns. Williams threw 20. Daniels had nine interceptions compared to just six for Williams.
With Ben Johnson dialing up plays, there's little doubt that Williams will top Daniels' passing totals in 2025. In fact, the real hot take is that it would be a disappointment if Williams doesn't outproduce Daniels by a wide margin in Year 2.
