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Bears draft USC quarterback Williams with No. 1 pick / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Bears draft USC quarterback Williams with No. 1 pick
The Chicago Bears drafted quarterback Caleb Williams out of the University of Southern California with the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday.
All three of the top draft picks were used to select quarterbacks, with The Washington Commanders choosing Jayden Daniels from Louisiana State University and the New England Patriots opting for North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye.
The Bears choice of Williams was widely expected, with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner seen as the answer to the franchise's long-running problem at the position.
Last month, the Bears traded their quarterback Justin Fields, a first round pick in 2021, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Williams began his college career at Oklahoma before switching to USC and in 37 games, with 33 starts, he threw for 9,782 yards and 93 touchdown passes with an additional 27 rushing touchdowns.
"It took a lot of sacrifice, love, care for winning the game of football and my team-mates, my coaches and my family," said Williams, when asked how he had become the top draft pick.
Daniels played a total of 55 games in college football, beginning with Arizona State before joining LSU and in 55 games he threw for 12,750 yards and 89 touchdowns and added 3,307 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.
The Patriots were taking part in the draft without Bill Belichick as their head coach for the first time since 1999 and they will hope Maye can end their search for a quarterback to finally replace Tom Brady.
A. Bogdanow--BTZ
