“Not a good look” – Caleb Williams reportedly ‘struggled’ in practice with a lot of incomplete passes and near INTs, fans react

Fans and football analysts expect the No. 1 pick of the draft to be tailor-made for the NFL from the get-go. However, that expectation is farfetched because college football to the NFL is a massive step forward even for Heisman Winner Caleb Williams.

The Chicago Bears rolled the dice, taking Williams as predicted. According to draft analysts, the 22-year-old felt the most ready for the step up. Former NFL corner turned ESPN football pundit Ryan Clark announced he would be surprised if the USC alumni is not starting from day 1.

That’s still a long wait and before that Williams needs to learn the basics of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense. However, his first week of serious training did not go according to plan.

On Thursday, before attending the White Sox game, he was at Halas Hall running drills at the Bears OTAs.

Top 3 OTA practice takeaways-

1- Bears defense is ahead of the Bears offense.

2- If there were open receivers, Caleb was not seeing them.

3- The ball was not coming out quickly. At all.

PS It’s May 22.

— Mark Carman (@thecarm) May 23, 2024

Head coach Matt Eberflus planned 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 to test out the rookies. Dan Wiederer of The Chicago Tribune reported that Williams struggled. He looked every bit of a green quarterback in their first couple of weeks of training.

Really rough day for Caleb Williams and the starting offense. A lot of incomplete passes and near interceptions.

In the 7-on-7 period, Williams completed just three passes. Jaylon Johnson nearly had an interception over the middle of the field.

In the team period, most of the…

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) May 23, 2024

Fans react to Caleb Williams struggling in OTAs

Experienced winger DJ Moore revealed it was frustrating, but he knows Williams is, “learning a new system.”

That comes with the territory of training a rookie quarterback. It takes time to adapt to new play callings. Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky gave a sneak peek at how much rookies have to memorize.

?REPORT: #Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams struggled mightily today with the starters, with many “near interceptions.”

Williams completed just 3 passes in 7 on 7’s.

“Most of the passes were completed to the flat, & Williams held onto the ball for a long time,” per @CHGO_Bears. pic.twitter.com/hy1V8xnDqY

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 23, 2024

Not a good look. Still very early in training camp tho. Give him time

— Last Take™ (@TheRealLastTake) May 23, 2024

Welcome to what Justin Fields had to deal with the whole time he was there. No excuses for him though.

— JR’s Rankings ??️⭕️ (@jrs_rankings) May 23, 2024

can’t believe they traded Fields for this!!!!

— Cody Delmendo (@Cody_CHGO) May 23, 2024

Who would have seen this coming? We should have built around Fields and drafted Marv and bolstered the OL.

As a Bears fan, we made the wrong choice and drafted a lesser Fields ?

— B (@GoBucks5240) May 23, 2024

They’re not going to the Super Bowl now ? we all have to keep in mind. It’s only May they don’t hand out ?

— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) May 23, 2024

"Williams held on to the ball a long time" @firstroundmock was saying this practically every day & y'all just tuned him out lol https://t.co/Y2Arjd8RRz

— Texas Rick Rockwelll☀️ (@RickRockwelll) May 23, 2024

This is the same guy who Bears fans are already calling the best QB in the NFC North btw https://t.co/PTeAF00tnO

— DetroitLionsMuse (BulgeMuse) (@OnePrideMuse) May 23, 2024

I just texted my Bears fan bf a screenshot of this & said “a bust.” Let’s see how annoyed he gets ?

Also, do I think he’s gonna be a bust? No. Do I think he’ll be good based off of Bears history with QB’s? Also no, but we’ll see bc anything can change. https://t.co/6UsDe4JCf7

— Rach (@RachMariie) May 23, 2024

Must be a bust! https://t.co/1apPJaXDdo

— Shane (@Seamus0914) May 23, 2024

Caleb Williams is the favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year

Although he never played in a CFP final, Williams has been considered a generational talent. The Bears got rid of Justin Fields to make room for him. And despite the early hiccups, FanDuel compiled a list of potential players who could win the NFL Offensive Rookie of The Year title, currently held by CJ Stroud.

Williams is currently set at +170, meaning a $100 successful bet would return $170. At second it’s Washington’s Jayden Daniels with +600 and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with +700 is at third.

Even other sports betting sites put Williams at the top of their lists. Jamie Eisner of The DraftNetwork had Williams +350 to win the OPOY.

Early odds for 2024-25 #NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year:

Caleb Williams (+350)
Marvin Harrison Jr. (+600)
Malik Nabers (+700)
Rome Odunze (10/1)
Jayden Daniels (12/1)
Drake Maye (13/1)
J.J. McCarthy (16/1)
Brock Bowers (20/1)
Brian Thomas Jr. (20/1)
Michael Penix Jr. (25/1)
Bo… pic.twitter.com/6E6eTClUMb

— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) April 23, 2024

This doesn’t come as a surprise. Caleb Williams set college football on fire with his quick and accurate throws. In 2022 during his first season with the Trojans, Williams recorded a career-high 333 completions for 4537 yards, 42 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions.

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