How did Caleb Williams look at OTAs? Charting Day 2 of open practice at Halas Hall
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - If you're a Chicago Bears fan riding the Caleb Williams bandwagon hard, it was a good day for you.
Williams had a much better day on Friday in contrast to Thursday's practice last week. Williams threaded a few needles and displayed his improvisational skills in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
Here's a breakdown of how Williams looked Friday throwing the ball.
7-on-7
This was where Williams shined, which makes sense considering there was no pass rush. It was still impressive to watch considering last week.
After a quick 11-on-11 period where Williams had one incomplete pass due to a solid pass rush by seven-year veteran Jacob Martin and one completion, Williams was passing the ball very well in 7-on-7 drills.
At one point, Williams hit five passes in a row. It wasn't just scripted throws, either.
Williams hit multiple improvised throws while on the run. One was a perfectly floated pass to the left sideline to undrafted rookie receiver Josh Jackson and another was a low bullet pass to Rome Odunze.
Odunze made a sublime adjustment, making a sliding reception on a pass that was low and away.
In the first 11-on-11 and the entire 7-on-7 periods, Williams only had three incompletions. One incompletion was a throw away, the other was called back as the practice referees threw a flag for pass interference.
In all, he was 15 of 18 passing. This included a touchdown pass he slung to DJ Moore in a one-on-one situation.
It was a good example of Williams recognizing a matchup and giving his Pro Bowl receiver a chance to make a play.
I thought 7-on-7, Caleb was really good," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. "I thought he did a really nice job throwing the ball on time. His footwork has improved this whole week. His progress is there."
11-on-11
When the pass rush was added to the equation, it was a little different to evaluate for Eberflus.
"A lot of times during this time of year, it's very hard to evaluate the protection because there's no pads on," Eberflus said. "I know that the d-line coaches get all excited and all that, and I always tell ‘em, I say, ’Hey, just gotta wait till we get the pads out.'"
With the pass rush, there was a noticeable difference.
Williams completed 4 of his 9 passes with the pass rush. Two of the incompletions were throwaways and he was sacked once. Odunze had a toe-drag reception, continuing his success.
It wasn't a perfect day, but it was better than last week. Eberflus noted that, and running back D'Andre Swift noted Williams' ability to listen, learn and adjust.
"The talent jumps out at you," Swift said. "Someone that's willing to learn."
It's good for the Bears, too. Especially for a team with plenty of new weapons.
"It's a complete offense," Swift said. "But, it's going to take work."
Other practice notes
Not present on Friday were Keenan Allen, Montez Sweat, Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson, Kevin Byard and JaQuan Brisker. It was a mix of personal and family issues, Eberflus said. He wasn't concerned.
The Bears' first-team offensive line combinations were Darnell Wright at tackle, Ja'Tyre Carter at guard, Cameron Shelton at center, Matt Shelton at guard and Braxton Jones at tackle.
Eberflus said the team has open competition at center between Shelton and Ryan Bates at center.
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