Break Out Star: Dan Campbell on Caleb Williams: “He’s Make a Big Jump” in Last Two Games”
When the Lions play the Bears on Thanksgiving Day, it’ll be the first time Detroit plays against 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
In his Tuesday press conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell praised Williams for the way he’s adapted to the league and grown throughout his rookie season.
“It’s not easy for any quarterback coming into this league, I don’t care who you are,” Campbell said. “Everything happens so much faster. The athletes, the looks that you get, the amount of separation or the lack of amount of separation that you had in college. So, those get on you, it takes a minute. And in between knowing protections, ‘Am I hot on this, what’s the look, I know this is a disguise, I don’t know if this is a disguise, the nickel is coming.’
“There’s just a lot and so what I’ve been impressed with is just he has grown, he has grown every game but these last two I really feel like he’s taken off and what they’re doing with him has been really good for him and he just looks very composed. He doesn’t get frazzled, plays pretty fast, and he’s an accurate passer, big arm, and he’s got some guys that can get open for him.”
The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Nov. 12 after the 19-3 loss to the Patriots and Williams has shown marked improvement over the last two games since. In Sunday’s overtime loss to the Vikings, Williams completed 32-of-47 passes for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, also rushing for 33 yards on six attempts.
Overall in 2024, Williams has completed 62.6 percent of his throws for 2,356 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 339 yards.
