Chicago Bears already see a leader in Caleb Williams at rookie minicamp
CHICAGO (CBS) – Prized Chicago Bears newcomers Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze suited up for their first practice at rookie minicamp on Friday.
It came as no surprise as head coach Matt Eberflus already named Williams the Bears starting quarterback.
Williams got a jump on learning the playbook with the Bears allowing him to work on some of the basics with his personal quarterback coach leading up to minicamp. He said he expects to be a leader of this team at some point, but for now, he's focused on learning and taking everything in.
"To be a great leader, you gotta learn how to follow first," Williams said. "Right now, I'm following all the vets. I'm following all the coaches. I'm listening, having both ears open and my mouth shut. When I learn everything, when I learn the ways of how we do it with the culture, then you can start taking the lead. Then you can start taking the helm of all of it and taking next steps. For right now though, I'm listening more than I'm speaking and talking."
Williams added that while he's still learning everyone's names and diving into the playbook, he conceded he's "going to make mistakes, and I don't really like mistakes."
Eberflus can already see something special in Williams that would seem to make him perfect for a leadership role.
"You can really tell that he's comfortable with himself in his own skin and he is who he is. His personality, his light comes out from the inside," Eberflus said. "He's an enhancer. He's the guy that brings out the best in people."
Odunze is hoping Williams helps bring out the best in him as they get to come in together as highly-touted top-10 draft picks. The Washington receiver called Williams "talented" and that "it's really effortless for him. He can do a lot of things that older quarterbacks may thing is hard."
Overall, Odunze said he's ready to get to work.
"It's hard to imagine a better situation, honestly," Odunze said. "Coming in with a rookie quarterback allows us to grow together, it allows us to learn this offense together as well. When he's studying, I'm there right next to him studying, getting his mindset on different routes and different concepts."
Williams in turn called Odunze an "explosive route runner" and "really smooth in and out of transitions."
Eberflus said the first part of team building is relationships, so he said it was great to see Williams and some of his new teammates out together enjoying Chicago at a Cubs game and a Sky game, starting to build that bond.
Third round pick and offensive tackle Kiran Amagadjie likely won't practice at all during the offseason program. The Hinsdale Central alum was dealing with a quad injury the Bears knew about from his college days. They want him to rest and be healthy for training camp.