Joel Klatt believes Caleb Williams in better position to succeed than Justin Fields, Bryce Young

Caleb Williams will all but certainly hear his name as the No. 1 pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft. It’s not your usual landing spot either for a top selection either, which is why Joel Klatt believes he can succeed early and often as a rookie and moving forward

Klatt spoke about Williams on his show on Monday in an episode where he released his final mock draft. He started by making the official choice of Williams to the Bears. Then, from there, he explained how Chicago is better off now for a top prospect to land at than they have been in the past because of the recent moves they’ve made.

“Let’s start with the Bears at number one. We all know where they’re going,” Klatt said. “Put it in there – Caleb Williams.”

“Caleb Williams is going to a place now where they are so much better suited to have success with Caleb Williams than they were when they drafted Justin Fields,” said Klatt. “I think that Caleb Williams can have a lot of success there in Chicago and I hope that he does.”

Again, the Bears aren’t your normal team at No. 1 pick since they made the swap with Carolina last year. While they started at 1-5, they ended up finishing at 7-10 last season.

That’s before you even get to the franchise’s additions over the course of this year. To go back to that trade from last offseason, they picked up WR DJ Moore, their leading receiver. They also drafted OT Darnell Wright at No. 10 in 2023 before trading for DE Montez Sweat during the season. Then, this offseason, they’ve signed RB D’Andre Swift and S Kevin Byard while also trading for WR Keenan Allen.

All of that has come together to make Chicago a far more attractive landing spot for a top pick, including one in Williams that could be transformative. It’s at least more enticing than other teams before as well as this year, including in the last draft for Bryce Young in Carolina.

“That’s not quite the case with all of these places that are going to be drafting quarterbacks. I am not envious of these guys,” said Klatt. “Now, listen, would you love to be a top pick in the NFL Draft? Obviously yes. But, remember, fit and location have a lot to do with your success than your own ability.”

“I think that we could see that in spades last year with Bryce Young. Carolina was in no position to succeed around Bryce Young and look what happened,” Klatt said. “By the way, look to the foreseeable future there. I don’t exactly know what their answers are around Bryce Young.”

With that situation, it’s on Williams to just arrive and work out as the team’s hope for the future. Klatt sees it going that way too based on how he thinks about Williams and the team he’ll be ending up on tonight.

“Bears? I think they’re set up pretty well for Caleb Williams to succeed,” Klatt said.