Would the Bears Have Won the NFC if They Had Drafted Jayden Daniels Over Caleb Williams?
As we look back on the NFL season, we have seen several tremendous new quarterbacks enter the league and instantly make an impact on their new teams. With several quarterbacks taken in the first round, we knew to expect big things from the next generation of quarterbacks this season. We have seen flashes from every rookie quarterback this season, but few expected Jayden Daniels to lead the Commanders all the way to the NFC Championship Game with a roster that only went 4-13 last year. The Bears, who had the first overall pick, opted for Caleb Williams over Jayden Daniels with their selection. So would the Bears have similarly made the NFC Championship if they had selected Jayden Daniels instead of Caleb Williams?
Well firstly, let’s look at the two rookie quarterback stats side by side. Caleb Williams this year with the Bears actually saw the Bears record regress to 5-12 with him as the starter. Caleb Williams throwing the football had a 62.5% completion percentage, 3541 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only threw six interceptions. However, Caleb Willaims would fumble 10 times throughout the year and additionally take an NFL-high 68 sacks. Although it may be easy to simply blame the offensive line, it should also be noted that Williams would often hold onto the ball too long which would result in a lot of negative plays for the Bears offense. This resulted in the Bears trailing in a lot of their games and a lot of Williams stats would occur during garbage time.
Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels has been an absolute revelation for the Commanders, which has been a team that has been equally as deprived of a good quarterback as Chicago. However, Jayden Daniels has managed to stay composed in close games this season which has really made the difference for the Commanders winning so many games this season. Jayden Daniels this season has had a 69% completion percentage, 3568 yards, 26 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. However, he has been sacked nearly 20 fewer times and fumbled only four times this year. What cannot be ignored also is the difference in roster talent between Chicago and Washington is what makes Jayden Daniels success in Washington even more impressive. If Jayden Daniels had weapons like D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze, the Chicago Bears would have been a lot more impressive offensively. I do believe that the Bears could’ve finally broken out of their quarterback slump if they had taken Jayden Daniels, but instead they may have taken another quarterback bust with Caleb Williams.
