ESPN: Caleb Williams already a Top 10 QB in one critical trait

It didn’t take long for Caleb Williams to earn high praise from across the NFL. After his debut in the NFL preseason, a performance in which Williams went 4/7 for 95 yards, the Chicago Bears quarterback is already being talked about as “the real deal” and “as-advertised,” which means a lot considering his pre-draft profile was often called generational.

Even ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky is riding the Caleb Williams hype train this week. On Monday, he released his list of the NFL’s Top 10 quarterbacks in seven important traits. You can read the entire list here, but what should be of particular interest to Bears fans was his inclusion of Williams in the “second-reaction ability” category, which Orlovsky defines as “being able to make a play is central to QB success, and the best in the league excel at making off-schedule and off-platform throws. These second-reaction passes from different arm angles — often on the move — can be the difference between moving the sticks and a stalled drive.”

Of Williams, Orlovsky says, “[he] has elite strength, and considering how good he was in this category in college, I fully expect him to instantly be among the NFL’s best second-reaction playmakers in 2024.”

Orlovsky isn’t pulling this out of thin air, either. In fact, Williams has already shown his elite potential when it comes to second-reaction plays in just one preseason game with this strike to Cole Kmet while on the move.

This angle pic.twitter.com/nQHvTAQxHB

— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) August 10, 2024

This might be the most important trait of all when it comes to quarterbacks. All good quarterbacks can win from the pocket, and we need to see more of that from Williams. But what separates the best quarterbacks from the merely “good” ones, the difference between a Patrick Mahomes and a Kirk Cousins, is the ability to make these off-script, drive-extending plays.

It should also be noted that Williams was the only rookie to earn a mention in Orlovsky’s rankings, which shouldn’t be surprising considering how much more pro-ready he looked than his fellow rookies.

It’s early, and we can’t overreact to one preseason game, but Bears fans have every reason to be excited for the future of the NFL’s flagship franchise.