National Football League

Bears' Caleb Williams has been practicing Shane Waldron's offense for weeks, per QB coach

Published May. 1, 2024 4:37 p.m. ET

It's all about Caleb Williams now for the Chicago Bears, and it appears that notion has been a two-way street.

Williams' quarterbacks coach Will Hewlett — who has also worked with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson — explained how the former USC superstar has been grasping Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's offense over the past six weeks in a Tuesday appearance on 670 The Score's "The Parkins & Spiegel Show."

"I have pieces. I don't have the plays. I could have the plays and would that really help because there's so many other layers that go into having a successful football play work? But we have the basic route concepts in terms of depths and timing, and then how that matches together," Hewlett said about Williams' knowledge of the Bears offense.

"The NFL is somewhat of a copycat league within the systems that are run, so there's stuff that we were already working on that it was just given a different name, instead of a pivot route, it's a thunder route, or whatever the case may be … I have Shane Waldron terminology."

Hewlett also expressed that Williams, whom Chicago selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft last week, is "hungry for structure."

Williams was the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner in what was his first season at USC and is coming off a spectacular collegiate career. In said season, Williams totaled 4,537 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns, five interceptions and a 168.5 passer rating, while completing 66.6% of his passes. He also ran for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Last season (2023), Williams totaled 3,633 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, five interceptions and a 170.1 passer rating, while completing 68.6% of his passes. He also ran for 11 touchdowns.

Waldron was the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks under head coach Pete Carroll from 2021-23. The former was previously an offensive assistant in some capacity with the Los Angeles Rams under head coach Sean McVay from 2017-20.

What are the expectations for the Bears and Caleb Williams?

The Bears have substantially improved their offense this offseason. In free agency, they signed running back D'Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett, while acquiring wide receiver and six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers. Chicago then selected Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick in the draft.

The Bears are coming off a 7-10 season.

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