The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books, and it was a long day/night for me and the rest of the BN Bears crew, so we’re going to use today’s newsletter to share all of the content we produced yesterday, and I’ll have more thoughts on the first round, and the rest of the Bears picks on Monday morning in this space.

Here’s my column on the new era of Chicago Bears football that’s being ushered in with the selection of Caleb Williams last night that originally appeared on the site.

Welcome to the Caleb Williams Era of Chicago Bears Football

In a few hours, the Chicago Bears will have a new franchise quarterback, Caleb Williams. He’ll be the best quarterback prospect they’ve ever welcomed into Halas Hall. There are many reasons why I believe that drafting Williams is a no-brainer, but his drive to win, above all else, is one that we’ll come to appreciate in Chicago. One quote from him during the pre-draft process stuck with me.

“As the saying goes, the legends live on. That’s my goal of playing football – it’s not money, it’s not fame… it’s to be immortal. I want to reach that sense of being a legend.”

Well, you’re in the right place, kid. Chicago is a place where legends are made. Jordan. Pippen. Rodman. Payton. Urlacher. Butkus. Mikita. Kane. Toews. The list goes on for days. Hall of Famers. Champions. Legends.

If a young player’s goal is to become an immortal legend, have their jersey hung in the rafters, and have statues built in their likeness, then there’s no better landing spot for Caleb Williams than Chicago. He’ll have every opportunity to see his vision through in this town.

He’ll also have the opportunity to be the latest in a long list of failed Chicago quarterbacks.

Chicago is a tough sports town. It’s a large media market with a rabid fan base that loves its Bears. Chicago—a city with six professional sports franchises—is a Bears town. This city breathes Chicago Bears football. Bears fans embody the grit and toughness the world has associated with the best eras of Bears football and wear it like a badge of honor.

But it’s been a long time since the city experienced the euphoria that it will tonight when Caleb Williams is selected as the first overall pick. The Bears have always been known for their defense. They’ve always been a defense-first team, from the Butkus days to the Super Bowl Shuffle in 1985 and even as recently as the Lovie Smith era.

But football has evolved, and no longer can a defense carry mediocrity at the game’s most valuable position to the Super Bowl. It’s been 24 years since we watched the Baltimore Ravens drag Trent Dilfer to the Super Bowl. Times have changed.

The quarterback position has to be right these days. The Bears have never been able to accomplish that. There have been 39 quarterbacks to start a game under center for the Chicago Bears since I was born in 1990.

34 Years.

39 Quarterbacks.

Not one of those quarterbacks has arrived with as much potential as No. 40 in my lifetime.

It’s tough to ask a rookie quarterback to come to a big city with big expectations and become the savior for a franchise that has long needed one. It’s borderline unfair. But in this case, he wants it. Caleb Williams has made it clear that nothing matters more to him than winning football games. The lock screen on his phone is littered with self-reminders.

“DON’T GET BORED WITH CONSISTENCY”

“Discipline is doing what you hate to do but doing it like you love it.”

“Battle between me and me, not you; you’re just in the way.”

“Put your DNA on a team, lead them to a championship – Kobe.”

“F— everybody, go kill.”

Williams’ lock screen also includes two goals for himself in the NFL: Become the No. 1 pick in the draft and win eight Super Bowls. Williams will check one of those boxes tonight. Bears fans hope he checks the latter when it’s all said and done.

In a recent conversation with Ryan Clark, Williams had this to say about heading to Chicago:

“I love LA. LA was great. Now that I want to play at one place for 20 years and chase one guy, number 12, I want a place that loves ball. That’s all I’ve heard about Chicago so far, which is exciting for me … it’s something that I’m looking forward to embracing … that’s the city to light up, bring back, revive, and make game days fun again.”

Not much hasn’t been said about Caleb Williams at this point. He’s been called generational. I don’t like that term. I think it’s empty calories. It’s thrown around so recklessly that it’s lost its value and meaning. But there is something different about Williams. He’s not your typical quarterback prospect. He’s not comparable to any one quarterback that you’ve seen.

He is, however, the best damn quarterback prospect in this draft class, in recent memory, and the best to ever walk into Halas Hall, and the competition isn’t remotely close in any of those respects.

Bears fans deserve this. They’ve been through it for most of their lives, with just enough sporadic success to keep them coming back, but the dialogue and pulse of one of the NFL’s most passionate fan bases were at an all-time low last season. It was an utterly unenjoyable place to be. But today marks the next chapter in Bears history and a new day for this fan base—one brimming with hope and excitement.

Not solely because of Williams, though. Bears General Manager Ryan Poles has done a tremendous job of resolving the disaster he inherited when he was hired as the team’s general manager. His trade with the Panthers last year has the potential to be the most impactful trade in the history of this storied franchise if Caleb Williams can answer the call in a Bears uniform. But Williams will have help. He’ll join a team better positioned to nurture a rookie quarterback than we’ve seen in Chicago.

The fear that Williams will become another Bears quarterback who wasn’t is understandable. We can’t escape the franchise’s history. But this feels different. This feels like it’s finally time. It’s finally right.

It’s Caleb Williams time in Chicago. It’s time to get excited about being a Bears fan again.

More Chicago Bears from Bleacher Nation

• The Chicago Bears were the story of the night in Detroit, landing Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze at No. 1 and 9. Our live draft show lasted for four hours and was full of commentary and laughs. Check it out!

More Chicago Sports from Bleacher Nation

Chicago Cubs

• Pete Crow-Armstrong went deep for his first major league hit and home run on Thursday, and the Cubs completed the sweep of the Astros.

Chicago Blackhawks

• Alex Vlasic and the Blackhawks agreed to a six-year, $27.6 million contract extension ($4.6M AAV).

Chicago Bulls

• It was a slow news day in Bulls land, but Eli had some thoughts about DeMar DeRozan’s shot quality and more in his bullets on Thursday.

What’s on deck?

• Cubs @ Red Sox | 6:10 | Marquee

• 2024 NFL Draft (Rounds 2-3) | 6:00 PM CT | ESPN, ABC, NFL Network