(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Last season, the Houston Texans were the surprise team in the NFL when they finished with a 10-7 record and trounced the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
They were just 3-13-1 the season prior, but the arrival of quarterback C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, made all the difference in the world.
This year, the Chicago Bears have added the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, quarterback Caleb Williams, pairing him with a trio of very capable wide receivers in Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore and rookie Rome Odunze.
Prior to the two teams meeting in the Pro Football Hall of Fame preseason game, longtime NFL play-by-play man Joe Buck said he feels the Bears can do what the Texans did last year, and he pointed to Williams’ apparent maturity as a big reason why, per ESPN radio.
“They’re loving the way he’s leading this team,” Buck said of the Bears. “… They have every reason to believe they can do this year what the Houston Texans did last year with C.J. Stroud.”
“The Bears and Caleb Williams have every reason to believe they can do this year what the Houston Texans did last year with C.J. Stroud.”@Buck joined @CarlinvsJoe ahead of the Hall of Fame game between the Bears and the Texans pic.twitter.com/qevq0bMdK8
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) August 1, 2024
Williams spent the last two years of his college career at the University of Southern California, which gave him a taste of what it is like to play in a major media market like Chicago.
He won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and threw for 72 touchdowns while adding 21 touchdowns on the ground the past two seasons.
It isn’t common for a QB drafted No. 1 overall, or No. 2 for that matter, to be surrounded by so many talented skill players as a rookie, and that advantage is why Chicago has the opportunity to improve so much this year.
The playoffs may not be in the cards this year, but as long as Williams fulfills a good amount of the hype, the future should be very bright for the Bears.
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