The Chicago Bears believe they positively altered the future of their franchise by selecting quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. An organization starved for quarterback success, Williams possesses an opportunity to rewrite the team record books as a rookie playmaker.
Let's analyze some of the Bears' rookie and all-time passing records Williams could shatter this season.
ROOKIE PASSING YARDS
This is one of several quite frankly pathetic rookie records Williams should easily dethrone. Former No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky currently holds the record with 2,193 yards. Justin Fields came close in 2021, passing for 1,870 yards. Fields and Trubisky each began their rookie seasons as backup quarterbacks, which didn’t help their chances to pad their stats.
For context, C.J. Stroud nearly doubled that number (4,108) as a rookie quarterback last season. Bryce Young (2,877) and even Aidan O'Connell (2,218) would have set the Bears' single-season rookie passing yards record with their 2023 totals. Assuming Williams starts all 17 games, he'll have to average just over 129 passing yards per contest to become Chicago's new record holder.
ROOKIE PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
This one is perhaps even sadder than Trubisky's rookie passing yards "record." Charlie O'Rourke, the 39th overall selection in the *checks notes* 1941 draft, set the Bears' single-season passing touchdowns record with a measly 11. O'Rourke began that season as the backup quarterback to Sid Luckman. Amazingly, O'Rourke set a record that has stood for 80-plus seasons despite only attempting 88 passes as a rookie!
The recent contenders, Fields and Trubisky, each threw seven touchdowns in their rookie campaigns. Kyle Orton (2005) and Jim McMahon (1982) came close with nine passing touchdowns. Williams could destroy this record less than midway through his rookie season.
SINGLE-SEASON PASSING YARDS
The Bears are the only organization in NFL history to have never enjoyed a 4,000-yard passer. It's a wild factoid given the league's pass-happy nature nowadays. Former undrafted quarterback Erik Kramer holds the franchise's single-season record with 3,838 yards in 1995. Only 12 Bears seasons have ended with 3,000-plus passing yards.
The Bears are expected to field an aggressive offense with Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, and Rome Odunze at wide receiver. Unlike the rookie passing yards and touchdown records, this one is less likely to be broken by Williams in 2024. We had 10 NFL quarterbacks surpass 4,000 passing yards last season. Williams could conceivably do it, but it would take a fairly special campaign.
SINGLE-SEASON TOUCHDOWNS
The Bears are also the league's lone franchise without a 30-touchdown quarterback. Kramer, who set the single-season passing yards record, also holds this honor with 29 passing touchdowns during that 1995 campaign. This is perhaps the most difficult benchmark Williams will attempt to achieve.
Justin Herbert is the lone rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30 or more touchdowns. The 2023 campaign produced just four 30-score passers; the 2022 season matched that number. Even Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes didn't reach that mark last season.
There are other single-season franchise records Williams could make his own. Jay Cutler was the last Bears quarterback to start all 16 regular-season games in 2009. Trubisky's sophomore 2018 campaign set a single-season passer rating record (95.4, minimum 250 attempts). Six NFL quarterbacks had a passer rating of 100 or greater in 2023.
