Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus called former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, the suspected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, "an outstanding young man," praising his "character" and "football knowledge" while speaking with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero at the NFL Annual Meetings in Orlando, Florida, Tuesday (March 26) morning.
"He’s an outstanding young man, and everything looks great in terms of his personality, his character, his football knowledge and we've got a lot of information there from that visit," Eberflus said when asked about recently spending time with Williams at USC's Pro Day last week.
The Bears traded former starting quarterback and 2021 first-round draft pick Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this month amid speculation that they'd select Williams at No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft next month. General manager Ryan Poles had previously stated he intended "to do right by Justin" if the Bears went "down that road" of selecting a quarterback with the top pick in February, weeks ahead of the eventual trade.
Williams won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell, Walter Camp and AP College Football Player of the Year awards, while also being selected as a unanimous All-American, during his first season with the Trojans -- having transferred from Oklahoma following head coach Lincoln Riley's hiring in late 2021 -- throwing for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions on 333 of 500 passing, while also recording 382 yards and 10 touchdowns on 113 rushing attempts. The 22-year-old threw for 3,333 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions on 266 of 388 passing, while also recording 142 yards and 11 touchdowns on 97 rushing attempts in 2023.