The Chicago Bears were only able to spend around 15-20 minutes with prospects at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, so there’s not much time to dive deep into what makes them tick, their characteristics, or how they will fit into a team’s offense or defense. But in Caleb Williams’ case, the Bears made sure to use their meeting time to work on recollection and see how he did memorizing NFL plays.
Williams spoke with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero about his experience at the combine and what it would mean to him to be picked first overall. The conversation then turned to his time with the Bears brass, who currently hold the No. 1 overall pick. Williams was pleased with their conversation and peeled back the curtain on what they did. “It was good, everybody was cool…it was really nice,” Williams said. “They were mainly testing me on my mentals and seeing how I would handle things and putting up a play on the board and 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later, asking me to recall it, things like that.”
What team does Caleb Williams want to end up with in next month’s NFL Draft?
“It’s been a dream of mine to go first, and so whoever picks first — can’t wait.”
I spoke with the presumptive No. 1 pick about his #Bears interview and more for @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/F4ld2YOk14
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 1, 2024
Hearing Poles and the Bears front office quiz Williams during their brief time together isn’t surprising. The general manager did a similar test with last year’s first-round pick, Darnell Wright, and lauded the tackle’s mental recall ability. Quarterback is arguably the hardest position to play in sports. The ability to memorize and have quick mental recall is imperative when playing the position at the highest levels. Williams didn’t reveal how he did with the quiz, but the fact that he said things went well during the meeting should be viewed as a positive.
The former Heisman Trophy winner has been the talk of the combine and left a positive impression on Friday, even after he declined to partake in the medical exams. The Bears are doing their homework on him and could be closer to making a decision about whether to draft Williams, someone else, or stick with Justin Fields.