The Caleb Williams era got off to a soft start last weekend at Halas Hall during the Bears’ two-day rookie minicamp.
Four members of the Bears’ five-man draft class participated in the minicamp, and many rookies and veteran tryouts also participated in the general practice.
Quarterback Caleb Williams entered minicamp early thanks to a head start in learning the fundamentals of the Bears’ offense. Williams only missed the mark on a few passes – he went 20-of-26 in two days (unofficial) – and some of those incompletions were drops.
Meanwhile, punter Torrie Taylor showed such power and accuracy that the Bears were itching to draft him in the fourth round.
Here’s how each member of the Bears’ draft class performed during minicamp. This is a loose letter grade assigned for field work in shorts during the month of May. (Do not take these grades seriously.)
Caleb Williams, QB
Williams lived up to his hype during the two-day minicamp, pitching primarily against players who were at Halas Hall for tryouts.
Williams showed solid accuracy and effortless accuracy during the 7-on-7 period. The No. 1 overall pick missed the mark on several throws, including one high to undrafted rookie Peter LeBlanc on Friday.
But even when rare reps failed, Williams reliably reached the intended target, resolved the mistake, and performed a shadow rep to correct it.
A big part of Williams’ work during the offseason program will be perfecting his offensive operations. Commanding the huddle, fine-tuning his rhythm and getting his footwork accurate will be a big focus.
“Just learning. Learning general information,” quarterbacks coach Kelly Joseph said of Williams’ goals in minicamp. “Being able to come out here and lead players. In the crowd. Being able to call plays and function. Getting to the line of scrimmage. That process. And being able to get through the progression of the passing game and being able to lead the field. He could feel the spacing properly. Looking at it now, when the defense was over there and it was just a walk-through or a 7-on-7, he understood his spot on the field and used it for us. He understands the system. That’s one of the things we were looking for coming into this production. And he did a great job with that.”
Accuracy, arm talent, aura, and attention to detail were all notable during Williams’ Halas debut.
Grade: A+
Rome, W.R.
Odunze practiced Friday but sat out Saturday with a hamstring strain.
The No. 9 overall pick played his part during a lone day of practice, showing smooth routes and soft hands.
Odunze and Williams have already started building chemistry off campus, and it paid off Friday, as the two connected seven times in a 7-on-7 third period.
Grade: A- (dented for availability)
Kiran Amegaji, OL
A third-round pick out of Yale, he did not practice as he continues to recover from quadriceps surgery in October.
The Bears’ medical staff cleared Amegazie to be released during the pre-draft period, but they want to be cautious before ramping up his development in the NFL.
Amegazi said he was feeling good and was ready to leave whenever he was given the green light.
I hope that happens in training camp.
Grade: N/A
Tori Taylor, P
Taylor spent the first day of rookie minicamp energetically kicking during full-field practice. The residence time and power of the Iowa product was notable.
The fourth-round pick has big feet, which the Bears viewed as a weapon, but his accuracy is just as impressive. Taylor “worked his wedge” on the second day of camp and, by his own admission, had a good, if not great, day.
Taylor still has to get used to the Chicago situation, but he knows it’s coming.
“I think one of the things you always think about is that nothing is perfect,” Taylor said Saturday. “And I always think that if you come off the field and you walk off the field saying, ‘Oh, today was perfect,’ then you probably shouldn’t be here, if that makes sense. But certainly the second practice went very well, but there’s still a lot to work on. What surprised me a little was how strong the wind is here. That’s why they call it the Windy City. I think that’s why I call it. But it’s something I’ll learn as I go along. But there’s a lot of happiness and there’s a lot to learn from it, and as long as I’m playing soccer. , that’s what it will be, and that’s what I want it to be.”
Class A-
Austin Booker, Delaware
You won’t get much out of the groove when practicing in unpadded shorts.
Booker played the role physically, and Bears coaches were pleased with his improvement from day one to day two.
The Bears plan to develop Booker into an impact every-down edge rusher. The job starts with the little things in the film room and weight room, and gets consistently better on the grass.
“For a rookie, it’s all a race to maturity,” defensive line coach Travis Smith said of Booker after minicamp. “The teams that are successful in this league today are the ones where the young players are the fastest and are able to impact the game. They don’t just play, they help impact the game in some way. No matter what position they play on offense, defense, or special teams, the sooner they can impact the game, the faster our team will rise toward its goals. So what’s our plan? Constantly improving every day. Today he came out and was better than he was yesterday. There is still a long way to go.”
Grade: N/A
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