Most important Chicago Bears in 2025: No. 1 Caleb Williams

The wait is almost over. The Bears will return to the practice field Wednesday when they hold their first training camp practice under new head coach Ben Johnson.

Over two weeks, Shaw Local is counting down the top 10 most important Bears heading into the 2025 season. Importance is obviously subjective. But for our purposes, it comes down to these questions:

Are the Bears worse off without the player? Does the player have untapped potential or past greatness to live up to? Is his story going to be one fans follow closely this season?

The best player on the team isn’t always the most important, but he certainly can be.

Here’s a look at No. 1 on the list, who shouldn’t be a surprise.

No. 1 Caleb Williams

Position: Quarterback

Experience: Second season

Looking back: Bears general manager Ryan Poles essentially bet his future on Caleb Williams when he selected the quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in 2024. Williams was the consensus top selection by analysts at the time, and Poles focused in on him during the draft process and didn’t spend much time looking at other quarterbacks.

Williams’ rookie season had mixed reviews. He started all 17 games and threw for 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions along with 489 rushing yards. Williams set the Bears’ rookie single-season passing record and broke the NFL rookie record for most consecutive passes thrown without an interception.

But there was also plenty of chaos. The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after Week 7, then fired former head coach Matt Eberflus after Week 13. Williams ended up working with three offensive coordinators and two play callers during his rookie season.

Williams also was sacked a team-record 68 times. Although the offensive line didn’t protect Williams adequately, many of the sacks were a result of Williams holding on to the ball for too long and failing to find open receivers.

Looking ahead: Almost every move Poles made this offseason was to put Williams in a position to succeed this season. Whether it was hiring Johnson, revamping the offensive line or drafting more offensive targets with his top selections this season, Poles has done all he can to make sure he can see whether Williams is the team’s franchise quarterback.

Now the pressure is on Williams to show he was worth the hype.

Many fans showed patience with Williams last year. He teased moments of being an elite quarterback last season despite not always being placed in the best position to succeed. Now Williams will need to prove that he can take a big step under Johnson and lead the Bears to wins.

Williams also will want to show that he was worth the No. 1 overall pick. Jayden Daniels, who was selected No. 2, led the Washington Commanders to the NFC championship game last season. No. 12 pick Bo Nix helped the Denver Broncos reach the playoffs, while No. 3 selection Drake Maye also showed promise with the New England Patriots.

It’s hard to fully gauge what a statistically successful season for Williams looks like. It would be understandable if Williams struggles at the beginning of the season as he and the rest of the offense tries to get used to Johnson’s system. The Bears’ schedule also will be one of the toughest in the NFL.

But the Bears will want Williams to pass the eye test this year. Nobody on the roster is more important for the Bears’ future than Williams. If Williams can prove he can succeed with Johnson, Poles has solved one of the toughest problems in sports by finding his franchise quarterback.

Now the table is set for Williams to succeed. It’s time for Williams to prove what he can do.

Previous installments of the top 10 most important Bears

• No. 10 Gervon Dexter
• No. 9 Drew Dalman
• No. 8 Dayo Odeyingbo
• No. 7 D’Andre Swift
• No. 6 Rome Odunze