Caleb Williams' gun reveals telling moment about Bears QB's true character

For a player to earn the distinction of being selected first overall in the NFL Draft, you'd expect him to check a number of important boxes. Fortunately, for the Chicago Bears, their recent No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, checks out a lot. Obviously, on-field performance is most important, and the Bears certainly hope Williams doesn't look like a rookie for too long, but a player's success on the field is often tied to their intrinsic competitiveness.

Turns out Caleb Williams checks that box, too.

After the first day of Chicago's mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who is coming off the best season of his young career in 2023 — 73 catches, 719 yards, 6 touchdowns — stood on the podium and shared with members of the media in attendance a recent story on Caleb Williams that seems to be a good indicator that the young QB is made of good things.

Cole Kmet isn't the only player on the Bears roster to see it. Even on the other side of the ball, Williams' Bears teammates are taking notice.

“He’s competitive,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said, per Alyssa Barbieri of Bears Wire. “As a rookie, he’s doing things that are nice to see. That’s what excites me the most and I think it excites our team the most.

Now, there will surely be people who hear about a story like this and say something like, “Well, that doesn't mean anything.” Golf is not football. To that I say you can't have it both ways. We can't simultaneously criticize guys when they're not manic competitors, celebrate Some guys when they are – you've heard the story of Michael Jordan Ping Pong, haven't you – and then say something like that “means nothing”. It means something.

Caleb Williams performance at Bears OTA

Before being selected first overall by the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams received some sage advice from seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady:

“There was a difference between being a star and being a champion. … Every day of practice was important. You know why? Because when I was on the Patriots and we had 20 years of winning, every day was a great day. I treated a preseason game, I treated a regular game like it was a Super Bowl. So when I got to the Super Bowl, it was just another day for me.

So far, Williams has been praised for both his competitiveness and willingness to learn, and for that reason, reports of a rough few days against the Bears' defensive starters aren't ringing too many alarm bells. If the end of last season was any indication, then the Bears should expect to have at least a top ten defense this year. So the fact that Caleb Williams can hone his skills against such a talented unit will pay dividends down the line.

For now, it's the little things Williams needs to work on. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus specifically noted that one area he expects to see improvement throughout the summer is in Williams' cadences and command of the huddle.

“Something we still have to work on, as you saw today, is cadence,” head coach Matt Eberflus said Tuesday, according to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago. “We saw guys jump offside – I think there were half a dozen times – so that's something that needs to be addressed. It's something that needs to be addressed and worked on and improved here over the next few days We would like this to be cleaned up.

Something like this may seem simple, but Cole Kmet explained why this is a problem not only for Caleb Williams, but many young quarterbacks entering the league.

“It’s kind of like you have to find your own voice when you come into the league. It's so interesting because in that position, like taking a shot under center and saying a cadence, it's something that you would think would be so normal. But most guys don't do that until they get to the league. Most guys cheer, you look on the sideline and you see the play. It's no different than what a receiver does. All these operational things are things you don't do now until you get to the league.

One of the Bears' newest weapons, wide receiver Keenan Allen, echoed what Cole Kmet had to say.

“By the time we get to training camp, he'll be well-oiled on what we've done and spending time with the offensive linemen, with the OC, and like you said, he'll just understand his voice and how he wants to say it, his pace, how he wants to live it. By the time we get to training camp, probably in a week or two, we should be running strong.

He's the hope of the Chicago Bears, and given how competitive Caleb Williams is, there's good reason to be hopeful.