- 22-year-old QB Caleb Williams is overwhelmingly favored to be the first player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
- If Williams is selected, Chicago Bears’ QB Justin Fields would highly likely be traded.
- Betting odds favor Fields playing for a new team in 2024.
Following the Kansas City Chiefs win at Super Bowl 58, attention diverts to the league’s next big spectacle: the 2024 NFL Draft. Heisman Trophy winner and former USC QB, Caleb Williams has heavy odds of being the first pick of the NFL Draft in 2024.
Currently, at BetOnline, Williams is a -900 favorite for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to announce the star QB as the first pick. To win $100 on this bet, $900 would have to be wagered. The implied probability of Williams going No. 1 is at 90 percent.
Note that this does not mean the Bears must select Williams. There is a small chance that the Bears opt to trade the first pick to another team. The Bears have 24-year-old QB Justin Fields under contract, though some scouts have Williams as a generational player.
Williams finished his collegiate career with 10,082 yards passing, 93 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in three seasons at Oklahoma and USC. Additionally, Williams proved to be a tough runner to bring down. He galloped for 960 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns as a runner.
Rumors Swirling That Williams Won’t Play For Bears
We will preface this by saying that NFL Draft rumors shouldn’t be regarded as true. In December, Williams ‘liked’ a post on X saying that the Bears shouldn’t draft him. The post continued, stating that the Bears should select Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Williams’ camp hasn’t been shy about admitting that going to the right organization matters. Williams’ father, Carl Williams, told GQ in September that he could go back to school if the situation wasn’t adequate.
“The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league — because of their desire for parity — gets the first pick. So it’s the gift and the curse. I mean, I’ve talked to Archie Manning — his career was shot because he went to a horrible organization. I’ve talked to Lincoln [Riley], and Kyler [Murray] struggled because of where he was drafted. Baker [Mayfield] struggled mightily because of where he was drafted…”
The Cardinals drafted Murray only five years ago in 2019. With those kinds of words from Williams’ father, we can most certainly exclude the Cardinals from trading up from No. 4 to the No. 1 pick. Fortunately, for Bears fans, there was no reference to Mitchell Trubisky struggling in Chicago.
Do the Bears constitute a horrible organization? They have their issues, but it’s a team heading in the right direction.
Williams’ Camp Disputes Anti-Bear Rumors
Earlier this month, sports show host and pundit, Colin Cowherd, poured more fuel on the fire. Cowherd claimed he doesn’t believe that Williams wants to be drafted by the Bears due to their inability to develop a QB.
In great news for Bears fans who want Williams, his camp pushed back against Cowherd’s assertion. On The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Cowherd said that Williams’ camp called him to say they don’t want to be associated with anti-Chicago rhetoric.
“I got a call from the Caleb Williams camp, and they went, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Colin, we don’t want to be painted as anti-Chicago, and we don’t want to be painted as anti-Bear,’” Cowherd said. “And they made it clear to me that they said, ‘Listen, we don’t want to go to a city that doesn’t care’. Chicago cares…they’re big, loud, they’re passionate. They fire coaches all the time…and they did say there’s a path to succeed in Chicago.”
But, what about Williams ‘liking’ the social media post? Most likely, Williams is having fun. Last week, he ‘liked’ an NBCS Bears post with Merril Hoge commenting that Williams isn’t ‘special’ or ‘close to Patrick Mahomes.’
Odds Favor Fields Playing For Steelers
The latest “next team” odds have Fields stepping on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to BetUS, the Steelers are the clear favorite at -125 to land Fields. The Atlanta Falcons (+400) have the second-best odds, while the New England Patriots (+500) round out the top-3 teams.
This affords Fields a better than 50 percent chance of playing for the Steelers next season. The odds suggest that the Bears are ready to draft Williams. This along with the Steelers’ QB situation being in limbo makes this a realistic scenario.
