Not everyone was captivated by the aura of Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams last season, where he led the franchise to their first division title since 2018 and set the franchise’s single-season passing yards record (3,942) during a magical 2025 season.
Ahead of the 2026 season, many analysts are making their predictions on who will thrive or fall coming into this year, and one writer is not buying all the hype surrounding Williams, due to the biggest criticism surrounding the Bears quarterback, his inefficient completion percentage.
Matt De Lima of The Big Lead explained why Williams made his Top 5 most overrated players going into 2026, joining a group that includes Travis Kelce, DK Metcalf, Davante Adams, and Trey Hendrickson. Whether it be for the price, the age, or the hype around the five mentioned players, are what landed them on the list, despite the only factors really holding back Williams is his low completion percentage and lack of faith in Ben Johnson from an outside perspective.
The MVP buzz is arriving well ahead of the play. Williams set a franchise record with 3,942 passing yards and a 27-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio while leading Chicago to an NFC North title and a wild-card win. Look closer, though. His completion rate dropped to 58.1 percent, the worst for any quarterback to reach the postseason since Andrew Luck in 2012. He also paced the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns to wide-open targets, feeding the argument that Ben Johnson’s scheme is carrying the offense more than the quarterback is. Johnson set a 70 percent completion goal that Williams whiffed on, then made accuracy a daily project this spring. “We need to get the completion percentage up,” Johnson said.
The Bears have been through the ringer for decades when it comes to looking for a high-powered, uptempo offense and a quarterback that can be a franchise leader for many years, which hurt even more while Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Jordan Love were all finding comfort in Green Bay. Now that the Bears have quite possibly landed on their franchise quarterback, who can put himself in the conversation among the league’s best quarterbacks, the hype doesn’t seem real, but there’s more reason for optimism than pessimism in Chicago.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Not everyone is buying the hype for Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
Reporting by Mike Pendleton, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mike Pendleton, Bears Wire | USA TODAY Network
